Maha Kutami (2009)

Not to be confused with Praja Kutami.

The Maha Kutami (transl. Grand Alliance) was an alliance formed ahead of the 2009 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and general elections. It was formed on 21 January 2009 by four political parties — the Telugu Desam Party, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India. It was formed with the sole aim of dethroning the then-Indian National Congress government in the state, which was led by then-chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.^[4]

Maha Kutami
Leader	N. Chandrababu Naidu K. Chandrasekhar Rao B. V. Raghavulu K. Naryana[1]
Founded	21 January 2009[2]
Dissolved	Around June 2009
Ideology	Secularism Communism Populism[3]
Alliance	Third Front
Seats in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly	107 / 294 (2009)
Politics of India Political parties Elections

Background

After the 2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence, the Left Front withdrew support to the Congress in the state as well. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and TRS then joined the Left as part of the national Third Front. In Andhra Pradesh, this alliance called themselves the Maha Kutami or "Grand Alliance" against what they called the "corrupt Congress" and "communal BJP".^[5][6]

Infighting and defeat

The alliance was marked by major infighting among its constituent parties, primarily due to frictions in seat-sharing between them.^[7] There was mutual distrust and disarray among the member parties, which caused them to lose votes to the Congress and the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). Notably, seat-sharing disagreements in the alliance were finalised barely 48 hours before the deadline for nominations.^[6] The alliance was described by India Today as "a loose grouping of super-sized egos and prime ministerial ambitions with no ideological common ground."^[8] The anti-incumbency votes were also divided between the TDP and the PRP, which benefited the Congress and damaged the TDP. Votes from the TRS and the Communist parties failed to transfer to the TDP, which caused the alliance to lose many seats, especially in Telangana.^[9] The Telangana statehood issue also proved divisive for the alliance.^[10]

Campaign

There was a noticeable change in the tone of the TDP chief Naidu during the elections. Naidu, who credited himself as the founder of Cyberabad (now HITEC City) and projected himself as a moderniser in the previous election, now raised the concerns of the poor, farmers and development of the countryside. The alliance with the TRS also forced the TDP to abandon its stance against Telangana statehood.^[11]

Endorsements

The All India Sunni Ulema Board endorsed the alliance.^[12]

Manifesto

The manifesto was released on 3 April 2009.^[13]

• Ensure economic, health and food security to the common man and reduce economic disparities in society.

• Implementation of the Cash Transfer Scheme (CTS).
• Integrated health scheme for poor- and middle-class families.
• Free colour TV set to every "common man".
• Law to control political corruption; tribunal will be set up to enquire and evaluate the disproportionate income of politicians.
• Provision of ₹2,000 (₹5,100 in 2023) monthly cash to every family.
• The Telangana issue will be resolved.

Constituent parties

Electoral history

Legislative Assembly elections

No.	Party	Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats contested	Seats won
1.	Telugu Desam Party			N. Chandrababu Naidu	225	92
2.	Telangana Rashtra Samithi			K. Chandrasekhar Rao	45	10
3.	Communist Party of India (Marxist)			B. V. Raghavulu	18	4
4.	Communist Party of India			K. Narayana	14	1
Total					302[a]	107

Notes

1. Seat agreements within the grand alliance differed as some members contested additional seats against each other.

See also

• Praja Kutami (2018)
• Kutami (2024)