Battleground Kotia: Why Andhra Pradesh’s panchayat polls move puts Odisha’s BJP govt in a tight corner

Two NDA-ruled states bordering each other—Odisha and Andhra Pradesh—are at loggerheads over 21 villages that both have been claiming as part of a decades-long political dispute.

After Andhra Pradesh announced that the panchayat elections for villages in the Kotia region of the Koraput district in southern Odisha would be held on November 3, Odisha’s BJP government has been pushed into a tight corner.

BJD supremo and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, has written a letter to CM Mohan Charan Majhi regarding Andhra Pradesh’s election notification for the three Kotia villages of Phagunsineri, Ganjeipadar, and Phatusineri. He has questioned whether the Odisha government’s muted response stems from political dependence on the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which rules Andhra Pradesh and is a key ally of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre.

On the other hand, Odisha’s BJP government has vowed to prevent Andhra Pradesh from holding panchayat elections in the disputed region, asserting that the area is an integral part of the state. Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari has said necessary directions have been issued to the Koraput district administration to remain vigilant and prevent Andhra Pradesh from holding elections there. Anyway, this controversy has become a major political issue in Odisha, where panchayat and municipal elections are due in the first part of next year.

The longstanding territorial claim between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in the Kotia group of villages has remained unsolved for decades. Even no solution has been found at the level of the Supreme Court, though Odisha has approached it for a long time. Once again, it has come to the political centre stage after Andhra Pradesh declared a panchayat election programme there.

BJD Chief Naveen Patnaik has lately been active in state and national issues, which indicates that he is trying for a comeback after the BJD’s unexpected and ignominious defeat, which ended his 24-year record as Chief Minister of the state in the 2024 general elections.

So, taking up the Kotia issue, he has sent a team of 16 party leaders to Kotia today, according to BJD General Secretary Bijoy Nayak. Taraprasad Bahinipati, a senior Congress MLA from Koraput, has said an all-party team will visit Kotia tomorrow.

Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari said Odisha’s attempts to dissuade Andhra Pradesh from holding panchayat elections in Kotia failed to yield results.

“The Andhra Pradesh government is not budging. We are exploring legal options,” he said.

The AP government had also held panchayat elections in Kotia in 2021.

Pujari said Kotia is an integral part of Odisha, adding that the Supreme Court had directed both states to maintain the status quo in the disputed region.

“With the status quo in force, it would not be desirable for Andhra Pradesh to hold any type of election there. Our officers have been asked to remain watchful of the activities of the Andhra Pradesh authorities.”

Pujari had also asked the state’s Advocate General, Pitambar Acharya, to initiate legal action on the matter after discussing the latest position with all top officials. The BJD said the BJP had raised the ‘Go back, Andhra’ slogan while in the Opposition and formed a 16-member committee on Kotia last year after coming to power. The main Opposition party alleged that the much-touted ‘double-engine’ government had failed to deliver tangible results in protecting Odisha’s interests in the region.

Describing the matter as of grave concern, Naveen Patnaik, in his letter to CM Mohan Charan Majhi, questioned whether political considerations were preventing the state government from responding firmly to the neighbouring state’s move.

“The Telugu Desam Party, which governs Andhra Pradesh, is a crucial ally of the BJP-led NDA govt. Is political dependence the reason for Odisha’s BJP govt’s silence and its willingness to compromise Odisha’s interests and territorial integrity?” Patnaik questioned in his letter.

Revenue Minister Pujari dismissed Patnaik’s letter as an attempt to deflect attention from the BJD govt’s failure in properly handling the issue. Pujari said the BJP government of the state had been making all efforts to solve the Kotia issue. He claimed that he had visited Kotia four times over the past two years, and that other ministers in Odisha were also regularly going there to connect with the people. Interestingly, villages in the disputed area are reportedly being doubly benefitted by welfare measures taken by the two neighbouring states.

Historically, when Odisha became a separate state on April 1, 1936, these villages were associated with the princely state of Jeypore, which remained in Odisha. Subsequently, a boundary demarcation exercise created uncertainty over the territorial status of several villages. During a boundary survey in 1942, seven villages were recorded as revenue villages under Odisha, while 21 villages were left outside that identification process. The absence of a mutually accepted and conclusive demarcation contributed to the dispute.

The controversy became more prominent in the 1950s, and successive governments failed to reach a permanent settlement. Odisha maintains that the disputed villages fall under its territory and administrative jurisdiction. Andhra Pradesh also claims that the 21 villages are under its territory.

The dispute is not limited to geographical boundaries. Both governments have tried to establish their own presence by implementing welfare schemes, providing public services, improving infrastructure, and engaging directly with the local population. Odisha has built good roads besides providing educational facilities and welfare programmes. Andhra Pradesh has also provided services like electricity, ration supplies, and other government benefits.

There is, of course, a discrepancy in old-age pensions and other benefits, which people compare, but Andhra Pradesh gives more.

The Kotia dispute had reached the Supreme Court in 1968, when Odisha challenged Andhra’s claim over the territory. In 2006, the apex court held the view that state boundaries were a matter for Parliament under the constitutional framework and directed the existing position to be maintained.

Tensions had arisen when AP held panchayat elections in the three disputed villages in February 2021. Odisha objected, arguing that the move violated the existing status quo. Now, the 2021 issue has repeated itself.

In January this year, tensions rose after Andhra Pradesh officials entered the area to conduct a survey related to ration cards and Aadhaar-linked benefits. Odisha objected to it.

The dispute returned to headlines in May, when Andhra Pradesh reportedly conducted census-related activities in villages where Odisha had already undertaken its own enumeration exercise.

Amid the present controversy, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has called for dialogue between the two states to solve the issue. The Kotia area is full of tribals whose concerns should also be taken into consideration.

Since the BJP-led NDA is in power at the Centre, as well as in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, the Centre can mediate and settle the matter permanently. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has already held a meeting with the Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Odisha—two bordering states with BJP governments—on the dispute related to the water distribution of the Mahanadi River.

This is a larger historical dispute between the two states, as Chhattisgarh has built a number of dams on the upper catchment of the Mahanadi, blocking the flow of water to Odisha. It has been reported that a settlement is on the cards, as Shah is the arbiter. Why no one is thinking along those lines vis-à-vis the Kotia issue is not known.