THE MULUGU REGION in north Telangana, a Naxal hotspot in the 1990s, saw many a battle between the state and the insurgents. Once, a gun battle ensued between the People’s War Group, now known as Maoists, and Janashakthi, another faction of extreme leftists. There were multiple casualties. A group of senior communist leaders and civil society members reached the forest to resolve the conflict. After much debate, the two groups decided to divide the areas of operation to avoid future violence.
About 25 years later, the legacy of the rivalry has spilled on to the political field―Telangana goes to the polls on November 30. In a high-intensity fight for the Mulugu assembly constituency, the Congress’s sitting MLA Seethakka, alias D. Anasuya, will take on the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s Bade Nagajyothi, a former sarpanch and relative newcomer to politics. Both belong to the Gutti Koya tribe and both were shaped by left insurgency. Seethakka was a commander in the Janashakthi group, whereas Jyothi’s father and uncle led the local branch of the People’s War Group. Both have lost family members to encounters.
Today, they are a testament to the shrinking influence of left extremism in the region. “She (Seethakka) has killed people. My father did not murder anyone. He used to only warn those on the wrong path,” Jyothi told THE WEEK. Her father, Bade Nageshwar Rao, aka Prabhakar Anna, was a former Naxalite who was popular among the tribals. He died in an encounter. “There are five mandals that are influenced by my father’s image,” she added. “I am getting to know a lot about my father during campaigning as people recollect how helpful he was.”
Jyothi claimed to have seen her father only three times, including once as a child when she was taken deep into the forest by her relatives. Her grandfather, aunt and a few other extended family members work for the government. But her father’s brother, Bade Chokka Rao, is now a senior Maoist leader. Local sources said he was backing her candidature.
Jyothi has based her campaign around two polar opposite figures―her father, and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and his welfare schemes. Mulugu is one of the largest constituencies in Telangana; it has 75 per cent forest cover. Of the 2.2 lakh voters, tribals make up 35 per cent.
Part of the mainstream: BRS Mulugu candidate Bade Nagajyothi (folded hands). Her father was a Naxal leader.
It is for helping these tribals that Seethakka has become popular in the constituency. The former guerilla fighter, who now has a law degree, caught the attention of many during the pandemic when she ventured deep into the forests to deliver rations to tribals.
Seethakka was in her teens when she joined the movement. After losing her husband and brother in police encounters, she laid down arms and accepted government amnesty. She subsequently took the political plunge and won on a Telugu Desam Party ticket in the 2009 assembly elections. She later moved to the Congress, where she has now become a favourite of the high command. Senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra started their Telangana campaign with a public meeting in Mulugu, where they appreciated Seethakka’s contributions. State Congress president Revanth Reddy said that she could even be a probable chief minister candidate.
Mulugu used to be part of the former Warangal district. In the same region lies the Huzurabad constituency, represented by former finance minister Eatala Rajender. Before entering politics, he was a leader of the Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU), a student organisation, which once was known for following extreme left ideology. Today, he leads the BJP campaign as its election management committee chairman. He will take on the chief minister in Gajwel and will also contest from his home constituency of Huzurabad.
Rajender is not the only one whose favourite colour changed from red to saffron. To some extent, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Adilabad, once the epicentre of the Naxal movement in the state, have seen a saffron shift through their three parliamentarians, all from the BJP.
Analysing these dynamics, Professor M. Kodandaram, a leading civil society voice and founder of Telangana Jana Samithi, pointed out that the sangh parivar was always active in the region, but the three MPs won more so because they exploited local factors. “In Nizamabad, people were against the behaviour of K. Kavitha, the chief minister’s daughter, who was the candidate,” he said. “In Adilabad, there was an issue between the tribals―Gond and Lambada―which the BJP effectively used by giving a ticket to a vocal voice, Bapu Rao. In Karimnagar, voters were against feudal families who held power. Although not all the BJP winners adhered to the ideological framework of hindutva, they all came from backward sections, which helped them win.”
Despite having three MPs, the BJP does not have MLAs in these regions. The party has asked these MPs to contest in the assembly elections. Former party president Bandi Sanjay will contest from Karimnagar, Soyam Bapu Rao from Boath and Dharmapuri Arvind from Koratla.
Arvind defeated Kavitha in 2019 and, having fulfilled one of his most important campaign promises―the establishment of a Turmeric Board―he is confident of another win. “The dream has been fulfilled by Prime Minister Modi, who has a farmer-oriented attitude,” he said. “It is definitely an advantage for the BJP, and we are in a strong position in my constituency, with the Congress in third place.” He brushed off the topic of Maoists; he said his generation would be the last to talk about them.
The Nizamabad region, too, will see a prestigious fight. Chief Minister Rao is contesting in two seats, one of them being Kamareddy in Nizamabad. Sources said the Congress is looking to field a formidable candidate against him.
In recent elections, Telangana has seen a growing culture of inducements, whether in the form of cash or extravagant feasts in exchange for votes. Alcohol, in particular, has become hugely influential in getting votes. This, however, is not a recent phenomenon; in the 1990s, a considerable number of employees at Singareni Collieries, which operates coal mines across Karimnagar, Warangal, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Khammam, developed alcohol addiction. The People’s War Group banned the sale and distribution of liquor in the region, garnering overwhelming support from women, and achieving a successful prohibition. This ban remained in force for nearly a year before the government removed it.
Khammam was another region where multiple extreme leftist groups thrived. It was also a stronghold of the communist parties, which led to friction. In the mid-1980s, Naxalites murdered Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders B. Bhishma Rao and B. Chandan Rao; the Praja Pantha (another left radical group) killed around half a dozen Communist Party of India members over ideological differences. “At one point, the CPI and CPI(M) had seven MLAs in this district. A lot changed after money flowed into elections,” said Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao, CPI state secretary. Currently, Khammam has no communist legislators, but Rao said the left parties still have a vote bank of close to 25,000 in every constituency in the region. Perhaps that is the reason the Congress might allocate the left bloc one seat here as part of a seat-sharing agreement. The extreme left might be on the wane in the region, but echoes of the past do remain.