Special status stalemate: Cooperative federalism put to the test

It is clear that the divide between the BJP and the TDP - indeed, most Andhra Pradesh parties, such as the YSR Congress - is deep

The current spat between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah shows how long a shadow the creation of Telangana, and its economic impact, continues to cast over the state’s politics. At the time, politicians in Andhra Pradesh worried that the loss of Hyderabad would dig a significant hole in the residual state’s revenue. As a result, they demanded that the state be granted “special category” status, which involves a step-up in central assistance that is usually reserved for hilly, remote or particularly disadvantaged states. Manmohan Singh, when he was prime minister,