Red reminders

Legacy of a Naxalite past lingers in the Telangana assembly elections

- RAHUL DEVULAPALLI

THE MULUGU REGION in north Telangana, a Naxal hotspot in the 1990s, saw many a battle between the state and the insurgents. Once, a gun battle ensued between the People's War Group, now known as Maoists, and Janashakthi, another faction of extreme leftists. There were multiple casualties. A group of senior communist leaders and civil society members reached the forest to resolve the conflict. After much debate, the two groups decided to divide the areas of operation to avoid future violence.

About 25 years later, the legacy of the rivalry has spilled on to the political field-Telangana goes to the polls on November 30. In a high-intensity fight for the Mulugu assembly constituency, the Congress's sitting MLA Seethakka, alias D. Anasuya, will take on the Bharat Rashtra Samithi's Bade Nagajyothi, a former sarpanch and relative newcomer to politics. Both belong to the Gutti Koya tribe and both were shaped by left insurgency. Seethakka was a commander in the Janashakthi group, whereas Jyothi's father and uncle led the local branch of the People's War Group. Both have lost family members to encounters.

Today, they are a testament to the shrinking influence of left extremism in the region. "She (Seethakka) has killed people. My father did not murder anyone. He used to only warn those on the wrong path," Jyothi told THE WEEK. Her father, Bade Nageshwar Rao, aka Prabhakar Anna, was a former Naxalite who was popular among the tribals. He died in an encounter. "There are five mandals that are influenced by my father's image," she added. "I am getting to know a lot about my father during campaigning as people recollect how helpful he was."