It is only appropriate to remember NT Rama Rao, popularly called NTR by the people of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the season of Congress decimation. From somewhere in the heavens, he must be smiling at the discomfort of all Congressmen.
Post emergency and JP’s movement, it was NTR who delivered a crushing defeat to the rising stature of Indira Gandhi. And all in the name of ‘Aaru Kotla Andhrula Aatma Gauravam’ – means the ‘Self Respect of Six Crore Telugu People’ that was used even after two decades by the current Prime Minister, when he won elections repeatedly in Gujarat by invoking the ‘Gujarati Asmita’.
The political journey of NTR, from being an artist who helped Congress Governments to raise funds during natural calamities (unfortunately the coast of Andhra experiences two cyclones a year on an average) to the man who put together a coalition against the Bofors tainted Rajiv Gandhi that included BJP and Communists as well, it was an eventful one.
And all started, as usual by the arrogance of the father of current uncrowned prince of Congress. In fact, it was Congress that wanted NTR in its fold. And Congress was ruling Andhra at that time. The resurgent Congress after the Janata experiment had gone haywire had its centre in Andhra. Indira Gandhi chose to retain Medak and give up Rae Bareli to Arun Nehru. In strict sense, she was the first Prime Minister from Andhra Pradesh, from 1980 to 1984. Virtually there was no opposition. Bored without any major external problems, she created few internal ones like the Punjab problem and was playing the political chess – by replacing chief ministers at her whims and fancies.
One unfortunate day, Rajiv Gandhi, then a political novice but a general secretary of Congress choose to visit Hyderabad. Anjaiah, the then CM of AP, in true spirit of the chamcha culture of Congress went to the airport to receive the then Yuvaraj. Instead of smiling benevolently, Rajiv shouted at the CM, who could barely understand English, publicly. It was reported in the local media and subsequent to the public humiliation, Anjaiah was removed from the post. Records say there were four chief ministers to the state between 1978 to 1982.
Smarting from the condition of leaders in Congress, NTR, who never tolerates unnecessary comments choose to enter the political arena – on his own. His one point agenda – ‘Self Respect of Telugu People’. It is a wonder, in the first state that was created based on Language, after nearly three decades of Congress rule, there was a call for ‘self-respect’. One can understand the way Congress ruled states then.
Congressmen launched a vitriolic campaign against NTR calling him names. Some simply scoffed off at him, saying politics is not ‘acting’, as if they were not acting. NTR, who was born into a farmer family and struggled hard to become the superstar of Telugu movies, know how to fight. And, his innovative ways of electioneering had changed the way elections have fought in India.
After delivering four super hit movies in which he played the role of angry young man, military officer who rebels against the corruption, a justice (Justice Chowdhary was remade in Hindi also), a police officer was ready to work hard. Really hard – he converted a Chevrolet van into his home on wheels for the next nine months and named it ‘Chaitanya Rath’, the first rath of Indian politics, only to be repeated by Advani almost a decade later.
With his son Harikrishna as driver, NTR took to roads and travelled every single major village in the state. Crisscrossing the state, the father-son duo covered nearly 40,000 kilometres in their campaign.
NTR used to deliver speeches from the top of the van. He was the first one who started eating with general public, in the village where he stayed for lunch, breakfast and dinner (In fact, I saw him for the only time as a boy of thirteen when he was having his breakfast in Podili. We were privileged because my mother works in the Court and wife of the magistrate was a fan of NTR, so we went along with the magistrate).
Being an actor helped him in gauging the public mood and pulse. He knew what works with general public. The image of mythological characters he played – Rama & Krishna to the perfection (he was popular for these characters even in Tamil movies), he was almost a divine figure. Dressed in Khakis, his bright skin darkened by the continuous exposure to the sun during the hard and gruelling travel, he delivered speeches touching various topics that are relevant to the common man, in a voice only he can talk.
He used to bath road side from the water being pumped by some villager. He was supported by the Telugu newspaper – “Eenadu”, which later grew into a media giant ‘E-TV’. Reporters of Eenadu, the largest circulated daily of AP covered the political campaign with full vigour. The photos of Rama Rao bathing road side would appear the next day on front page. When Rama Rao played with the kids of villages in the evening, it became attraction on the next day’s paper.
He was the first one, who openly criticised the dynasty politics of Congress. He questioned the slavish mentality of the then Congressmen and compared them with the mighty Congressmen ‘Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu’, the man who opened his shirt and showed his chest to the British Police and the Simon to back, way back in 1927 in Madras. There were no answers from the Congressmen. In line with the systematic destruction, Indira Gandhi ensured there were no leaders in the party.
While he was on the travel, NTR used to have small conferences in all the places and choose his candidates. When the elections were conducted nine months later, his party won 199 seats out of 294 and he became the first non-congress chief minister of the state.
[Truly, I feel funny when the current main stream media calls Arvind Kejriwal great for defeating Sheila Dixit after one year. First, Kejriwal grew on the stature of Anna Hazare only to dump him later, after his own name was established. Second, Delhi is no Andhra Pradesh. Frankly, elections to Municipal Corporation of Delhi are also equally hard or easy when compared with the Delhi state.
Third, in the current days of live TV and social media reaching public is billion times easier than in the good old days, when NTR had to rely on a newspaper that is delivered on the next day. And of course, All India Radio used to sing praises about the party in power at Centre. Calling Kejriwal’s win a historical only exhibits any columnist’s lack of knowledge of how elections were fought in all Indian states.]
NTR provided the first educated government to Andhra Pradesh. Himself a graduate, he was probably the least educated one in his cabinet. For the first time, a Doctor was the minister for Health and a Lawyer was having the Law portfolio. Engineers were in-charge of Industries and Irrigation. The much adapted ‘Single Window’ system was introduced by NTR. Even today, the best government run transport corporation in the country is being run in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. {Had he been alive, I am sure, never Telangana people would have asked for a separate state, for the current CM of Telangana joined Telugu Desam, the party of NTR three decades back.}
Almost not known to most of India, in Hyderabad like monsoons, communal riots were also seasonal in pre-NTR era. For the first time he let the police to do their job and they did it better. As long as he was in power, there were no communal riots. Even MLAs of Congress and Majlis were simply locked up and no amount of political interference could ensure their release. Even the Naxalites used to sing paeans to NTR.
When he went to USA to get his heart operated upon, Congress, true to its wicked politics lured the second man of NTR’s cabinet, who was left in-charge of the state by NTR himself to split the party and made him CM. That exhibited the despair and limitations of the think tank of Congress. [I really laugh when Rahul and his team talk about democracy!]. The Congress Governor Ramlal did not consider the majority of MLAs paraded in the streets of Hyderabad, supporting NTR. NTR, on his return from operation did what was known to him.
The ‘Chaitanya Rath’ was serviced and he took to streets and started touring – with bandages on his body. All opposition parties supported him from DMK to NC and BJP to the Left. Indira Gandhi was forced to remove Ramlal. A month later Indira Gandhi was assassinated and riding on the sympathy wave, Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister, with a landslide victory. His only hindrance in the Lok Sabha was TDP, with 36 MPs. It was first time in the history of India when a regional party acted as the main opposition party. Contrary to the arguments of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi two years back, Rajiv Gandhi didn’t grant the leader of opposition post to Yerram Naidu, leader of TDP MPs in Lok Sabha..
As if to challenge Rajiv Gandhi, NTR dissolved the state assembly only to win 202 seats out of 250 contested seats.
Meanwhile, NTR started the first state level entrance examination for admission into engineering and medical colleges, raising the standard of education in the state. This, apart from his favourite project “Telugu Ganga” to provide water from the river Krishna to the parched lands of southern Andhra had seen his image increasing. In fact, when Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the link between the Godavari and Krishna, he was only doing poetic justice to the dreams long cherished by NT Rama Rao.
The city of Hyderabad that resembled a ghetto in Pakistan in bad old Congress days was developed into a proper metropolis during his tenure, which later was developed by Chandrababu Naidu into a mega city. He started to build very big bus stands in all towns and cities with an idea of accommodating all government offices in one complex so that common man’s torture of moving from one to the other could be eliminated. Though all towns in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana now boast of bigger bus stands and probably the best state run transport corporation, his final objective is yet to be achieved.
Failed in containing the ever growing popularity of NTR, Rajiv Gandhi used the most trusted weapons of the Congress – the Governor. NTR had to deal with four governors during his tenure from 1982 to 89, of which he had to endure Kumudben Joshi for almost five years.
The souring relations between NTR and Kumudben Joshi were as acrimonious as the relations between India and Pakistan. Ms Joshi converted the Rajbhavan into the state congress head office and did her best to trouble the most popular chief minister of the state.
When someone like Manish Tewari and Abhishek Manu Singhvi start lecturing on the role of Governors and the powers of chief ministers, it appears they have not read the acts and deeds of congress governors in the past.
When Rajiv Gandhi was under siege for the Bofors issue, NTR rose to the national frame and ensured all political parties came on to the board to oppose the then congress government. When the National Front was created, he was the Chairman with VP Singh as its convenor. However, through his eccentric behaviour, though natural for any artist he failed to cope with the continuously increasing onslaught of congress wicked scheme of things and lost the elections in 1989.
But, by that time, he created a permanent impression in the minds of Telugu people. His act of vacating one of his party seats so that PV Narasimha Rao could contest and elect to Loksabha with a record margin was a good retort to the Congress that wanted to have PVNR elected to Rajya Sabha. In a way, NTR boosted the very much needed confidence of PVNR during the initial days of his prime minister-ship.