HYDERABAD: Andhra dialects of the Telugu language reverberated at Telangana Bhavan, with the most repeated phrase being “emmandi, maa vallaku ticket isthaara andi (sir, will you give our leaders a ticket)?” as supporters of Andhra Pradesh politicos lined up to see their leaders being inducted into the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Supporters of AP leaders were curious to know about the party’s plans to contest the Lok Sabha and AP Assembly elections in 2024.
Telangana Bhavan, which has been adopted by the BRS as its headquarters, was the nerve centre during the statehood agitation. The place served as a meeting point to strategise agitations against the ‘Seemandhra rulers’ of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
The irony was not lost among those present. Many spectators were bemused to see BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao sharing a stage with AP leaders, and Telangana leaders according a grand welcome to their Telugu counterparts.
Telangana Bhavan in Jubilee Hills was the centre of activity throughout the day, with programmes depicting the Andhra culture, dialects and traditions, including folk performances, being organised.
Visiting supporters said that they were moved by the warm welcome, as they never imagined of such a welcome from the BRS, and that too, in Telangana.
Political leaders and supporters from Guntur, Vijayawada, Nuzividu, Mangalagiri, Anantapur, Kadapa, Mummidivaram, Gannavaram, Kothapet, Gurajala, Amalapuram, and Nandyal districts of Andhra Pradesh turned up in large numbers.
Some of them recollected how they fought for a united state and strongly opposed the TRS before the state’s bifurcation and reflected on the changes in the political scene since.
