One voter, two votes: How Kotia villagers navigate blurred border dispute

While Odisha provides essential services, such as schools, anganwadi centers, water supply points and employment guarantee, Andhra focuses on benefits, including 35 kg of rice compared to Odisha's 5kg

Sporting a T-shirt bearing the photo of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, 20-year-old Rupal (name changed) shows off a photo from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) rally he attended 30 km away in Andhra Pradesh’s Salur the day before. But Rupal, a resident of Talsembi in the Kotia group of villages, is both thrilled and nervous — he will cast his first ever vote, and in two states on the same day.

At a 60-km drive from the Koraput district headquarters, with a well-maintained road occasionally diverted by the ongoing Bharatmala project, lies the Kotia group of villages nestled amid small, tall hills near Deomali, Odisha’s highest peak in the Eastern Ghats. Under this picturesque view prevails an uneasy calm — of a decades-old territorial dispute.
 

Odisha claims 21 of the 28 villages in the Kotia panchayat, home to 8,000-odd people, predominantly Kondh tribals. However, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh says the area belongs to the Salur mandal in Vijayanagaram, now Parvatipuram Manyam district.
 

The residents vote in two states — in the Pottangi Assembly constituency and Koraput Lok Sabha (LS) seats in Odisha, and the Salur Assembly and Araku LS segments in Andhra Pradesh. Both states hold simultaneous Assembly and LS elections, but this is for the first time these constituencies are going to the polls on the same day, May 13.

The YSRCP organised special vehicles that ferried people from Kotia to Salur. “We went to the rally as asked by the elders,” said Rupal, who claims to have two voter identity cards.
 

So does 35-year-old Markanda Gemel, who says his Ganjeipadar villagers will vote in Odisha in the morning hours before proceeding to booths set up by Andhra Pradesh outside the disputed area. Not only do villagers have two voter identity cards, but some also hold ration and pension cards from Andhra Pradesh as well, with slightly tweaked names. This helps them get benefits from both states.
 

At Uparsembi village, Hanad Tadingi (24) points to a house being constructed by the Andhra Pradesh government. Interestingly, the house is an extension of a building constructed by Odisha years ago. “The YSRCP government is providing Rs 1.8 lakh to the villagers under its housing scheme,” Tadingi said, adding that most houses in his village were equipped with solar lights provided by Andhra Pradesh.
 

While Odisha gives essential services, such as schools, anganwadi centres, water supply points, and job guarantee, Andhra Pradesh focuses on benefits, including 35 kg of rice compared to Odisha’s 5 kg, and increased payouts.
 

In the runup to the polls, the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government increased the old-age pension to Rs 1,200 per month from Rs 500 earlier. In Andhra Pradesh, the YSRCP government has proposed to raise the amount from Rs 3,000 per month to Rs 3,500. The Opposition Telugu Desam Party has promised to pay a monthly stipend of Rs 4,000 to the old if its alliance with the Jana Sena Party and Bharatiya Janata Party comes to power.

A resident shows his two voter ID cards, at his house in Kotia Photo: PTI

 

The Patnaik government provides cashless medical insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per year (it is Rs 10 lakh for women). The Reddy regime, however, has raised the limit to Rs 25 lakh a year, the same as promised by the TDP alliance.
 

There is a post office in the panchayat registered in Odisha, a community health centre, and a police station. While Odisha is promoting strawberry cultivation in the area, Andhra Pradesh officials are meeting farmers, encouraging them to grow turmeric.
 

“The residents are enjoying the best of both worlds. It seems people are more inclined towards Andhra Pradesh because of its welfare schemes,” said Visakhapatnam-based veteran journalist Santosh Patnaik, adding there was no such border demarcation in the area. According to villagers, Odisha has built roads, but signboards can be seen indicating claims by both states.
 

Last year, Telugu movie Extraordinary Man stirred a controversy by depicting Kotia to be under Odisha before 1947 but became part of Andhra Pradesh after Independence.
 

However, experts in Odisha suggest the area was part of the Jeypore Estate till April 1, 1936, when a separate state was formed based on language. According to a joint survey by Odisha, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh in 1942, seven villages of the Kotia panchayat were recognised as revenue villages of Odisha. But the survey didn’t include the remaining 21 villages. These villages were also skipped in the survey by Andhra Pradesh in 1956, when the state came into being. However, according to the Union government’s gazette notification, these villages come under Odisha.
 

In 1968, Odisha approached the Supreme Court over the issue. But the apex court ordered the status quo following a long legal battle, holding that only Parliament could do justice to the matter of border disputes of states.
 

Former Koraput collector Gadadhar Parida says the influence of Andhra Pradesh on Kotia has increased in the past five years under the YSRCP government due to the inaction by the Patnaik government.
 

Once a Maoist stronghold, multiple reports suggest the area is rich in mineral resources such as gold, platinum, manganese, bauxite, graphite, and limestone. Kanak Tadi, 42, says most of the tribals have converted to Christianity.
 

The Araku LS constituency, established after the delimitation in 2008 and reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, has been with the YSRCP since 2014.
 

For Odisha, there are 5,510 voters in the group of villages, while Andhra Pradesh has about 2,554 voters in all those 21 habitations.
 

How will Tadingi vote twice with the finger already inked? “I think an arrangement has been made,” said Tadingi, who voted for the YSRCP in the last election and the BJD in Odisha.  Koraput Collector V Keerthi Vasan says the panchayat saw 70 per cent polling last time. “Preparations are in place to ensure they vote in Odisha.”
 

C Vishnu Charan, project officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency of Parvathipuram, told PTI: “As long as the voting dates are on different dates, it is not an issue. These people can go to the Koraput side and also our side, and they can vote twice.” Emails of questionnaires sent to the Parvatipuram district collector as well as Odisha and Andhra Pradesh state election commissioners regarding the dual voting rights didn’t elicit any response.
 

On the occasion of Utkal Dibasa (Odisha Foundation Day) in 2023, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradh­an visited Kotia and raised a “go back Andhra” slogan in counter to officials from the bordering state present there. This was objected to by Salur legislator and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Peedika Rajanna Dora, who frequents the area.
 

While the BJP and the Congress target the Patnaik government for the alleged increase in Andhra Pradesh influence in the area, the bordering state’s Lok Satta Party demands the Reddy regime take initiative to prevent Odisha’s domination.  Pradhan says the situation in Kotia is testimony to the BJD government’s failure.