Nehru-Gandhi safe seats: Indira Gandhi's lost constituency in Medak

With time, the character of land changes. This holds true for Medak. A drive through the town, located around 100km from Hyderabad, reveals its political history. “This is TRS land,” says K. Jithender, a final year degree student, waiting for a bus at a busy traffic junction. It would be surprising if someone had not said this. The erstwhile Medak district is home to none other than Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s past and present assembly constituencies—Siddipet and Gajwel. The town is represented by Padma Devender Reddy of the ruling party. You can see rippling pink flags (TRS) atop buildings and also on vehicles. The party cadre is upbeat and the people positive. The Congress does not have much of a presence here, but they can take solace in a significant chapter of history that is in complete contrast to today’s times. A children’s park in the town stands testimony to the power of one of the tallest members of Congress family—India Gandhi—and the love she got from the people of this region.

“In 1983, the park and its surrounding areas were filled with people. The public meeting had to begin at 11pm in the night. Indira Gandhi had to address the public as part of her campaign for assembly elections,” said Gudur Krishna Goud, a senior Congress leader and former municipal counsellor, who was a witness to the meeting. “She did not turn up on time. But, the people refused to budge and waited all night to catch a glimpse of her. She reached the venue at 4am in the morning. They gave her a rousing welcome and applauded her speech. Such was the craze for her.”

The former prime minister and one of the most dynamic members of the Gandhi-Nehru family, Indira Gandhi had a tryst with Medak for close to four years. According to local Congress leaders, a party delegation met her and requested her to contest from Medak for parliament elections to be held in 1980. By then, the party was very strong in Medak parliament segment as all the assembly seats under it were represented by the Congress. After she agreed to contest from Medak as well as Rae Bareli, the local leadership went into a huddle.

“All the top Congress leaders assured her that they will work for victory. They chalked out the strategy and actively took part in campaigning to ensure an impressive victory for her,” recalls Krishna. Former Union minister Jaipal Reddy was her opponent then.

According to a local reporter, K. Rajesh, who as a youngster covered her campaign, “She participated in a total of seven public meetings, each in the assembly constituency under Medak parliament. She was a very energetic woman who would easily stand out in a large crowd.”

The fact that she chose a constituency which was part of the Nizam territory also worked to her advantage. “In Telangana, people understand and speak Urdu. That way, language was not an issue for her as people of Medak understood her Hindi speeches,” said A. Shyam, a senior Congress leader, who closely observed her campaign. 

“I don’t think language would have been a barrier even if people did not understand what she was speaking. Just the waves of her hand or lip movements were enough for everyone to sit and take notice. Just her name was enough to draw crowds.” In the elections, she won with a majority of more than 3 lakhs and went on to become the prime minister.

Old-timers recall how she did not abandon the constituency after she won and instead, made an effort to visit and develop it. “Between 1980 and 1984, she held meetings with sarpanchs and municipal counsellors twice. I was fortunate to attend one meeting,” said Krishna. “She keenly discussed various issues and took my feedback. She was very attentive. It was surprising to see a prime minister concerned about local issues.”

A few months before she was assassinated, she inaugurated civic works and even attended a meeting in Medak town. As news spread about her death, the town went into shock. “People poured on to the streets after knowing about the incident. We voluntarily closed all shops. There were stray incidents of violence too,” said Lakshmaiah, a sweetshop owner, was 28 then. “We were very sad that day. The country had lost a prime minister, but we lost our MP.”

—This article is part of a series on the 'safe seats' the Congress embraced in the south:Chikmagalur, Ballari, Medak and Wayanad.