Telangana Elections 2023: Former Naxals make a beeline for electoral politics   

Whatever is left of the CPI(Maoist) in the state isn’t even in a position to properly execute their routine poll boycott calls in Telangana

Mulugu, one of Telangana’s most remote areas, appears to be a pathfinder for left-wing extremists of all hues to take to the ballot as a substitute for the bullet.

The presence of Danasari Anasuya (also known as Seethakka) from the Congress and Bade Nagajyoti, the ruling BRS nominee, both from Naxal backgrounds, in the election fray leaves Far-Left ideologues brooding over the relevance of their long-held beliefs – that political power flows out of the barrel of a gun.

Quite a long time back when the Naxal movement was at its peak in early 2000s in north Telangana, Seethakka, a dalam commander of the Chandra Pulla Reddy (CP) faction of the CPI (ML), gave up arms and surrendered to the government. Subsequently, she took to mainstream politics and even succeeded in entering the portals of the state assembly in undivided Andhra Pradesh by winning the election on a TDP ticket in 2009.

The Battle For Mulugu

After formation of the Telangana state that catalysed TDP’s downfall in the state, she switched to the Congress to win the state elections for a second time in 2018 from the same segment. Seethakka has endeared herself to her constituents, projecting the image of a down-to-earth leader who is always accessible to the needy in their hour of distress. She uses social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter effectively to establish constant contact with her constituency.

Seethakka’s win in 2018 and her unflinching loyalty to Congress has been an irritant for Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, as she is one of the rare leaders that defied his charisma at election time and subsequent attempts at political manipulation.

When KCR’s BRS (then TRS) bagged 11 out of 12 assembly segments in the undivided Warangal district under which Mulugu then fell, Seethakka’s leadership traits ensured his spell failed to work in Mulugu. When a dozen of the 18 lawmakers of the Congress jumped onto the BRS bandwagon after the 2018 elections, Seethakka was one among the remaining six who stuck with the Congress, braving pressure tactics and temptations from the ruling party.

In a determined bid to storm into Seethakka’s fortress this time, KCR has fielded Nagajyoti, a young woman with a family background deeply entwined with Maoism. KCR is apparently hoping the antidote to a former Naxal’s charm can be found in the same source of Seethakka’s entry into public life.

Nagajyoti, lost her father Bade Nageswar Rao aka Prabhakar, commander of the Eturinagaram dalam of the CPI (Maoist) in an exchange of fire with police when she was a five-year-old. Her mother Rajeswari alias Nirmalakka was also a dalam member of the Maoist party.

The widening demographic imbalance in an assembly constituency reserved for scheduled tribes with the dwindling numbers of Adivasis is one of the peculiarities of Mulugu. OBCs estimated at over one lakh in the constituency outnumber Adivasis (70,000) even as Scheduled Castes stand at nearly 50,000 in the total electorate of 2.20 lakh.

The 30-year-old Nagajyoti is using the legacy of her father as a leader wedded to the uplift of marginalised sections as a campaign tool. That is a tough sell as her 52-year-old rival Seethakka, has left an indelible mark on the electorate in an illustrious career spanning three decades.

From Bullet To Ballot

Besides Sithakka and Nagajyoti, there are several ex-militants from different naxal groups who have tasted political power through the TRS/BRS-led statehood movement and the party’s subsequent electoral success. Etela Rajender’s career trajectory is the strangest of them all.

From the far-left he shifted to the political centre through TRS and then served as a senior minister in the KCR government. But his ambitions rose, and he had a falling out with KCR, following which he moved further right in the political spectrum to the BJP.

Energy minister Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy, Rasamayi Balakishan, a BRS lawmaker from Manakonduru, and Naradasu Laxman Rao, an MLC of the BRS, are other prominent ex-Naxals who have done well for themselves. Even the revolutionary balladeer Gaddar drew close to the Congress in his last days and his daughter is now seeking a Congress ticket.

The writ of the People’s War Group (which later merged with the Maoist Communist Centre and other Naxal groups to form the CPI(Maoist)) ran across the north Telangana region and it literally was a parallel government for quite a long time. But the left wing extremists were ruthlessly crushed by the YSR government in 2004 and subsequently Telangana became almost free of Naxal activity under the KCR regime, despite the statehood movement under his leadership receiving active backing from all Naxal factions.

But many of those who adhered to left wing activism haven’t had an easy ride since Telangana statehood. One of the leaders of the Telangana statehood agitation – Prof Kodandaram, was often labelled a “Naxal sympathiser”. His transition to mainstream politics through the Telangana Jana Samithi party hasn’t enjoyed the support or popularity that the TRS/BRS commands.

The activists who stayed away from mainstream politics remain under the shadow of suspicion. Varavara Rao, the 82-year old Maoist-leaning ideologue of Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Virasam) or Revolutionary Writers Association languished in jail for several years in the Bhima-Koregaon case. Prof G Haragopal, another icon of the civil rights movement, was also implicated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. But the case against Haragopal was withdrawn following uproar in civil society.

KCR’s silence in these two cases despite the support from the left wing for the statehood movement also stems from the reality that the Left is no longer a force to reckon with in electoral or ground strength. Whatever is left of the CPI(Maoist) in the state isn’t even in a position to properly execute their routine poll boycott calls in Telangana.

While it looks unlikely that Naxalism or even the mainstream Left represented by CPI and CPI(M) will make a resurgence in Telangana, the accommodation of the likes of Seethakka and Nagajyoti in mainstream parties does represent a big victory of the ballot over the bullet and class struggle.

Gali Nagaraja is a senior journalist, formerly associated with The Hindu, The Times of India, and Hindustan Times for over three decades. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.