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Journalism of Courage
N Chandrababu Naidu, the country8217;s most well-known Chief Minister in the world, was sent home packing by his voters today ending his dream of a third successive term. He had worked hard8212;with a fair amount of success8212;to showcase Hyderabad as an infotech destination. But was finally tripped by the realities he was either afraid, or too complacent, to tread: grinding poverty, farmers preferring death over debt, development schemes more virtual than real and his ambiguous signal to the state8217;s Muslims8212;all leading to a groundswell of resentment.
Final Verdict 2004 is 48 hours away but its first message sent shivers all the way, from Dalal Street to Raisina Hill: the NDA was reconciled to a poor showing by Naidu8217;s Telugu Desam Party, its most demanding ally, but wasn8217;t quite prepared for this, prompting it to rewrite its back-of-the-envelope calculations as it tries to add up to 272.
The TDP fared even worse than what the bleakest exit polls had predicted, getting just 47 seats in the 294-member state Assembly. In contrast, a triumphant Congress and its allies8212;the Telangana Rashtra Samiti TRS being the key8212;wound up with 226.
In fact, tying up with the TRS, the Congress was able to tap into a restive region that has always felt marginalised, politically, socially and economically. As expected, TRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao was quick to admit tonight that he wasn8217;t diluting his stand. And that he would rather stay out of the new government, wait for a resolution for a separate state of Telangana than join the Congress government.
But the sheer magnitude of Naidu8217;s rout8212;never in its 22-year history has the TDP fared so badly8212;hinted at a wider disillusionment.
8216;8216;It was a silent revolution,8217;8217; said Congress leader Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, tipped by most to be picked as the next Chief Minister. 8216;8216;Farmers and youth, who suffered most during the TDP regime, have thrown out the government.8217;8217;
For Naidu, it was an abrupt end to a nine-year stint. 8216;8216;I am pained but I accept public opinion,8217;8217; he said while handing over his resignation to Governor Surjit Singh Barnala. 8216;8216;We will analyse the reasons for our defeat.8217;8217;
What will bother him most is the fact that apart from sweeping Telangana, which was expected, the Congress also performed extremely well in the coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions, long considered TDP strongholds.
It appeared that the entire state was unanimous in its rejection of Naidu8212;a worrying sign for the NDA, which had been banking on the leader to keep the Congress at bay in the Lok Sabha battle.
Instead, 28 of Naidu8217;s 35 Cabinet ministers were defeated8212;the most since the late N T Rama Rao decimated the Congress. The Telugu Desam could not win even a single seat in the districts of Nizamabad, Khamman and Medak in Telangana and in Nellore in coastal Andhra.
While a chastened Naidu promised introspection, Reddy signalled8212;even before he was sworn in8212;that Andhra could see some interesting days ahead. He would not give a definite assurance on whether Telangana state would be carved out of Andhra8212;something that is at the top of his ally TRS8217;s agenda8212;but controversially indicated that farmers would get free power supply.
While his party8217;s high command remains committed to reforms and Reddy himself swears by the central leadership, this move could mark a controversial beginning to the Congress8217;s new innings in the state.
