T movement comes full circle

HYDERABAD: A region fighting for a distinct cultural and geographic identity seems to have lost its voice in the game of political one-upmanship. Two years ago on November 29 when TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao launched a fast-unto-death seeking statehood for Telangana, he almost forced the government of India (GoI) to concede his demand on December 9, 2009 when the then Union home minister P Chidambaram made a statement declaring that the "process of formation of Telangana state has been initiated."
Much water has flown since that eventful day and the Telangana movement was virtually swept away in the swirl that followed.So much so that KCR could not take another 'bold decision' to force the Centre to keep its promise. Though he raised the hopes of T-protagonists when he dropped hints of undertaking another fast-unto-death, KCR's plan fizzled out after the 42-day-old Sakala Janula Samme (SJS) had failed to yield the desired results. Instead, the strike antagonized the farming community, the daily-wage earner and the middle class.
Now, there is apparently no option for the statehood seekers, particularly the TRS, except to wait for an opportunity to gain foot-hold in the region's political arena. The recent happenings in Delhi bear testimony to the fact that GoI is in no mood to take a decision on Telangana as it is besieged with several other issues of national importance. With not much ammunition left in TRS armoury to dictate terms either to the state or Centre, it would have to be at their mercy till the 2014 elections.
With reports gaining credence on the tacit understanding between TDP and Congress to keep TRS at bay in the political arena, the TRS has taken the battle into the camp of the rival parties by winning over four MLAs, two from each of the parties. From a modest 12 seats, it has begun efforts to ensure that the party's numbers double in this assembly over the next six months.
While the party's think tank is busy redrawing strategies for achieving the goal of Telangana, a section of the party has embarked on an exercise to pull down the Kiran Kumar Reddy government by playing the sentiment card and blaming elected representatives from TDP and Congress for all suicides by Telangana protagonists. However, the TRS loses out very badly in the numbers game.
TRS party sources said KCR was not averse to undertaking an indefinite fast again to achieve the genuine and sincere demand of the four crore people of the region. "We have realized the importance of having KCR as our leader in the last 11 years. We cannot allow him to sacrifice his life. The entire politburo too has endorsed this view," said a politburo member.
Though all sections of the society have come together to fight for the separate statehood cause in the last two years, it remains to be seen whether their aspirations will be fulfilled.