Ironically, it was the prolonged sense of utter neglect that fuelled the Telangana statehood movement, whose biggest supporter was  KCR  himself.  Hyderabad as the state capital is located in the heart of Telangana with 14 assembly constituencies. The region to the north of Hyderabad is called North Telangana, while the region to the south is called South Telangana.

Telangana Election 2023: It has been almost nine years since Telangana state came into existence. This is the third in the state since its formation in the 2014 Assembly Election. Yet the divide between south and north in the state continues to grow and now the  10-year  rule of Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) is under threat. Ironically, it was the prolonged sense of utter neglect that fuelled the Telangana statehood movement, whose biggest supporter was  KCR  himself.

Division Of North and South Telangana: From a geographical point of view, north Telangana falls in the Godavari river basin at one end,   while south Telangana is at the exact opposite end in the Krishna river basin.  In terms of development, the fate of a particular area depends on the abundance of the river on which it is located. In this way, northern Telangana has been far ahead of its southern counterpart by default, It is because of the Godavari River.

In 1923 Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad state, built the Nizam Sagar Dam on the Manjira River, a tributary of the Godavari. After this, in  1949, the Kadem project was started on the Kadem river, It’s another tributary of the Godavari. The Shri Ram Sagar project was also constructed on the Godavari during the tenure of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh.

Incidentally, North Telangana played an important role in the statehood movement led by its son KCR. After the formation of the state, the North Telangana maintained its political dominance over the South. Some argue that the South Telangana, which has traditionally been disadvantaged, had to pay the price by losing a large part of its development. KCR’s assembly constituency is Gajwel, his son K.T. Rama Rao’s area is Sirisilla and his nephew T. Harish Rao’s area is Siddipet, all are located in north Telangana.

They have emerged as growth hubs in and around these localities with clusters of premier educational institutions like IITs and IIITs,   a good road network, etc. The mega Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project also came up on the Glocatedodavari river during  KCR’s tenure focusing on north Telangana, Which is known as the pride of Telangana. Frequent droughts have led to frequent crop failures and irrigation facilities have prevented south Telangana from coming out of its backwardness. This has also triggered a mass exodus of the workforce.

Apart from the heterogeneous development priorities of successive governments, including the present KCR government, the irregularities of nature have also played their part. Though the Krishna River flows through the southern parts,  the area hardly benefits from the river because of its low flow.

KCR could Do Better in His Term: KCR is accused of failing to complete long-pending irrigation projects on the Krishna River in south Telangana at the same pace as he did in his home constituency Kaleshwaram. In his first term, KCR lobbied with then Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to resolve inter-state disputes with Maharashtra over the use of Godavari water, paving the way for his brainchild,  the Kaleshwaram project. When it comes to the south Telangana, he reportedly did not show the same urgency in preventing YS Jaganmohan Reddy-led neighboring Andhra Pradesh, whom KCR had declared his foster son,  from “over-exploiting”  the  Krishna river through the Pothireddypadu head regulator.

From the very beginning, the new state had set out on its journey between its two localities with different cultures,  uneven irrigation, and slow grievances over development priorities.

The Assembly session on November 21, 2014, barely four months after the state formation witnessed such a rift. Congress leader from the south, former minister G Chinna Reddy,  accused the KCR government of launching a “cultural invasion”  on his locality.

The Bathukamma festival, which is actually considered the festival of the north Telangana,  was promoted by the government as a symbol of the culture and identity of the entire Telangana. “Though this festival is different for the south Telangana,  it is being imposed on it. Though KCR’s party is seen as a party securing statehood, it got 63  seats in the  119-member Assembly in 2014,  just three seats more than a simple majority. It was because of the people of the South Telangana.

Wait and Watch Situation: The People of Telangana have rejected his party as the area has been a traditional Congress stronghold. Will the November  30 election bridge the North-South divide and ensure an equal game? Now it is time will have to wait and see.