[Letter from SV Raju Jan-1985]

Summary

In this January 1985 letter to “Sivaji,” S. V. Raju discusses the electoral victories of N. T. Rama Rao’s Telugu Desam movement in Srikakulam and Rajampet, reading them as evidence of NTR’s popularity in Andhra and as an encouraging check against India’s movement toward dictatorship. He reports Minoo Masani’s advocacy of a Federal Party and a proposed national opposition involving NTR, Ramakrishna Hegde, Farooq Abdullah, and Karunanidhi, while expressing concern that NTR announced the Bharat Desam party without first securing wider support from leaders in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Key points

• Raju interprets the victories at Srikakulam and Rajampet as confirmation of N. T. Rama Rao’s popularity in Andhra.
• The letter presents NTR as a possible source of alternative national leadership and a counterweight to authoritarian tendencies.
• Raju discusses Minoo Masani’s proposal for a Federal Party and a national opposition to the Congress(I).
• He criticises NTR’s announcement of the Bharat Desam party without sufficient preparatory consultation beyond Andhra.
• Raju welcomes NTR’s support for the Anti-Defection Bill in principle but objects to the Bill’s hurried passage and implications for intra-party democracy.
• He argues that a successful federal party would require abundant consultation, especially outside Andhra, and a clear national identity.
• The letter suggests that “Bharat Desam” may be a more inclusive name than “Desam,” since “Nadu,” “Desh,” and “Pradesh” have different regional meanings.