The much-awaited second State Reorganisation Commission (SRC) might not see the light of day during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. A significant section of the Congress leadership is not keen on setting up the panel to avoid fuelling the agitation for carving out a separate state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.
The state leadership of the Congress and the state government led by YS Rajasekhara Reddy are also understood to have reservations about Telangana. As the Congress has done well in all recent polls in the region, its top managers feel that a second SRC — which will lead to predictions about Telangana — might affect the party’s electoral fortunes.
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly is likely to go to polls along with the next Lok Sabha elections in April.
The UPA government is also worried about states like Maharashtra and West Bengal where there are strong demands for creation of separate states of Vidarbha and Gorkhaland, respectively.
“The second SRC might open a Pandora’s box,” said a senior UPA minister. The ruling faction in the Darjeeling Hill Council has been lobbying hard with the central government for carving out Gorkhaland from West Bengal.
When the UPA came to power in 2004, it had the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti, whose main agenda is struggle for Telangana, as its ally. The national common minimum programme (CMP) of the UPA also favoured creation of Telangana.
“The UPA government will consider the demand for Telangana at an appropriate time after due consultations and consensus,” the CMP said.
But the Congress took a hesitant approach fearing political backlash from allies like the Left. It also feared loss of votes in other regions of Andhra Pradesh. Although it didn’t fulfil its promise, the Congress managed to hold on its vote bank in the region.
In January last year, after TRS legislators led by party president K Chandrasekhar Rao resigned from the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly, subsequent local elections saw the party suffer a major setback. Bypolls were held for 18 Assembly and four Lok Sabha seats. Out of the four Lok Sabha seats, the TRS could retain just two, while the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TOP) clinched one each.
Out of the 18 Assembly seats, the TRS could win only seven and the Congress and the TDP won six and fives, respectively. Congress managers say even the TDP, which has been opposing the creation of Telangana, has made electoral gains.
The second State Reorganisation Commission (SRC) would have been an advisory body to recommend carving out of new states and altering the boundaries of the existing ones. The first SRC, set up in the 1950s, led to the formation of the country’s southern states on the basis of language. Gujarat was also separated from Maharashtra following its suggestions.
Andhra Pradesh, was, in fact the first Indian state formed on purely linguistic basis. After severe agitations, on October 1, 1953, 11 districts of the Madras state were combined to make the new Andhra state with Kurnool as its capital. On November 1, 1956, nine districts were added to expand Andhra Pradesh.
