Parties In AP Going ‘Single’ To Contest In 'Poll Battles'

All the political parties seem to have decided to go ‘single’ in the forthcoming elections to local bodies as well as Assembly and Lok Sabha. Making a departure from their chequered past, they are shunning away from ‘alliances’ and making a pitch for testing the waters on their own. Regular ‘alliance makers’ –Telugu Desam, TRS, BJP, CPI and CPM – are wary of entering into alliances this time as they are not sure of the emerging political scenario in the state. YSRCP, too, does not appear to be keen to enter into an alliance with anyone. 
    
In the current fluid political situation, these parties are weighing their prospects and seeking to gauge the mood of the voters through various modes: agitations, dharnas, padayatras and bus yatras et al. TDP boss and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been on the roads for over six months since Gandhi Jayanti last year for “Vastunna Meekosam” padayatra. YSR’s daughter and YSRCP leader Sharmila has also been on her “Maro Praja Prasthanam” padayatra from October 18 last year. They have traversed through Telangana, Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra regions to feel the ‘pulse’ of the people. 
    
Naidu has made it clear that the next battle of the ballot for Assembly and Lok Sabha is going to be a make-or-break event for his party. Similarly, Sharmila has given enough indications that her brother’s party is engaged in a do-or-die battle and fighting with its back to the wall. TRS is also tired of entering into alliances for piggyback-riding on the shoulders of other major parties. BJP has veered to the feeling that it should perform or perish on its own strength. CPI is now realizing that it cannot twotime the TRS in Telangana and the TDP in Seemandhra. CPM does not want to tag on to other parties now. The Congress is in an unenviable position of having no friends at all. The MIM has had no history of entering into pre-poll alliances with any party. 
    
So, it will be interesting to watch all these parties going it ‘alone’ in the elections. This will mark a total departure from the opportunistic or strategic alliances that had become the hallmark of elections since the advent of Telugu Desam in 1982. Over the last three decades, TDP has invariably contested every general election and panchayat raj and municipal polls in alliance with other parties. When the TDP contested its maiden elections in 1983, it had a ‘limited alliance’ with erstwhile Rashtriya Sanjay Manch of Maneka Gandhi. 
    
In the wake of ‘Save Democracy’ movement that helped N T Rama Rao regain his CM’s gaddi which was usurped by Nadendla Bhaskar Rao for a month in 1984, the TDP forged alliance with BJP, Janata, Congress (S) and Left parties. In 1999 and 2004, TDP fought the elections in alliance with BJP. The Congress took TRS and Left parties on board for the 2004 Assembly/Lok Sabha elections and wrested power from TDP. For 2009 polls, TDP formed the ‘grand alliance’ (Mahakutami) with TRS and the Left parties. Chiranjeevi’s PRP had played spoilsport for the Mahakutami by splitting the anti-Congress votes. 
    
TDP, TRS, BJP, CPI and CPM seem to have become ‘friendless’ in the current scenario, precisely because none of these parties trusts one another. This ‘trust deficit’, rather than any ideological conflict of interest, is the cause for their aversion for poll alliances this time around. Moreover, the dissensions within the TDP, TRS, YSRCP and Congress seem to act as “deterrents” for potential allies. 
    
It remains to be seen how all the players will perform in the next elections when they fight single-handedly.