Electoral Alliances in 2004 and TRS in UPA

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<<–2/”>a href=”https://exam.pscnotes.com/5653-2/”>p>In the run-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections, the Congress and the TRS formed an electoral alliance. In the Congress election manifesto for 2004 elections, it was stated that the Congress Party recognizes the growing emotions and aspirations of the people in the Telangana region. It was further added in the manifesto that while respecting the report of the StatesReorganization Commission, the Congress Party notes that there are many valid reasons for formation of separate states in Vidarbha and Telangana. However the reorganization of existing States raises a large number of issues. The Congress Party feels that the whole matter could be best addressed by another States Reorganization Commission to look into all the issues involved.

The Congress won both the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly elections and formed Governments at the Centre as well as in the state. The TRS also joined the Government, both at the Centre and in the state. The Government at the Centre was formed by The United Progressive Alliance (UPA), led by the Congress Party. The UPA in their National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP), 2004, of the Government included the Telangana issue also stating that The UPA Government will consider the demand for the formation of a Telangana state at an appropriate time after due consideration and consensus. Subsequently in the Presidential address to the Joint Session of Parliament on June 7, 2004, mention was made that the Government will consider the demand for the formation of a Telangana State at an appropriate time after due consultations. The UPA Government accordingly constituted a three-Member Committee of the Cabinet Ministers under the Chairmanship of Shri Pranab Mukherjee in November, 2004 with Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Shri Dayanidhi Maran as Members. The Committee did take up this matter further, but no conclusion seems to have been arrived at.

On the reported grounds that the Central Government had been indecisive over the delivery of its electoral promise to the TRS for creating a separate Telangana, although (i) as per the election manifesto of the Congress Party no such definite

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promise had been made; and ii) in the CMP also no guaranteed assurance or time limit had been indicated, TRS in September, 2006 withdrew support to the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre. The other main reason prominently quoted was the differences between TRS President K.Chandrasekhara Rao and the Congress Chief Minister Dr. Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy. TRS ministers left their positions in Government both at the centre and in the state. Subsequently, all the four TRS MPs and the sixteen MLAs resigned their seats in the first week of March 2008 over this issue, forcing bye-elections. The bye-elections were held in May, 2008. In the run-up to the elections, while the TRS went all out in supporting the cause of Telangana and called the byeelections as a Referendum on the issue, both the Congress and the TDP maintained that the bye-elections did not lend themselves to being seen as a referendum on Telangana issue, as they too were not opposed to the formation of a separate Telangana state. However, the election results proved quite disappointing to the TRS which could retain only seven out of sixteen MLA seats and two out of four MP seats.
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