Praja Kutami Explained

Party Name:	Praja Kutami
No Of Members:	5 political parties, 1 independent
Ideology:	Secularism Communism Social liberalism Democratic socialism Social democracy
Position:	Centre-left to far-left
Colorcode:	38C3FF
Leader:	N. Uttam Kumar Reddy L. Ramana Chada Venkat Reddy M. Kodandaram
State Seats Name:	Telangana Legislative Assembly
State Seats:	(2018)
Alliance:	United Progressive Alliance
Foundation:	11 September 2018
Dissolution:	23 January 2019

The Praja Kutami or Maha Kutami ^[1] was an electoral alliance between the Indian National Congress, Telugu Desam Party, Communist Party of India, and the Telangana Jana Samithi in the run-up to the 2018 Telangana Legislative Assembly election. It was formed on 11 September 2018 with the sole purpose of defeating the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the polls that year.^[2] The party was seen as a major contender during the election campaign,^[3] however, the TRS managed to win a landslide victory and soundly defeated the alliance in the elections.^[4] On 23 January 2019, the alliance was called off when the Congress announced that it would contest all of the seats, both Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha, in the upcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh.^[5] Until then, there were talks about the alliance contesting together in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and general elections.^[6]

The alliance was the first and only time the Congress and the TDP, once arch-rivals, teamed up together to defeat a common enemy. As such, throughout its existence, it was criticised as an 'unholy alliance' by the TRS and the BJP.^[7]

Manifesto

The joint manifesto of the Praja Kutami was released on 26 November 2018.^{[8] [9]}

Agriculture

1. ₹2 lakh (0.2 million) farm loan waiver for farmers.
2. Ensure MSP, stabilisation of crop prices and execution of irrigation projects.

Electricity

1. Free electricity to those consuming under 100 units of power.

Employment

1. All outsourcing employees will get revised pay on the basis of court order for ‘equal work and equal pay’.
2. 1 lakh government vacancies will be filled within the first year of government.
3. Job opportunities for Telangana workers seeking jobs in the Gulf.

Pension

1. Age limit for pensioners will be reduced from 60 to 58.
2. Unemployment allowance of ₹3,000 per individual.

Constituent parties

No.	Party	Flag	Symbol	Leader	Seats contested	Seats won
1.	Indian National Congress			N. Uttam Kumar Reddy	94	19
2.	Telugu Desam Party			L. Ramana	14	2
3.	Communist Party of India			Chada Venkat Reddy	3	0
4.	Telangana Jana Samithi			M. Kodandaram	8	0
Total					119	21

See also

• Maha Kutami (2009)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Telangana's Grand Alliance Threatens to Topple the TRS. Here's How It Got There. . 2023-12-04 . The Wire . On September 11, when once arch-rivals Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) formed a grand alliance (Mahakutami or Prajakutami) in a bid to defeat the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in poll-bound Telangana, there were several questions about its future..
2. Web site: 2018-09-11 . Congress, TDP, Left form grand alliance to fight Telangana election . 2023-12-03 . Hindustan Times . en.
3. Web site: 2018-11-10 . Telangana Assembly election: KCR's dreams of cakewalk fade as TDP-Congress alliance gets its act together-Politics News, Firstpost . 2023-12-03 . Firstpost . en.
4. News: Reddy . Ravi . 2018-12-11 . TRS retains power with landslide win . en-IN . The Hindu . 2023-12-03 . 0971-751X.
5. Web site: Congress To Contest Alone In Assembly, Lok Sabha Polls In Andhra Pradesh . 2023-12-03 . NDTV.com.
6. Web site: 2019-01-23 . No grand alliance in Andhra Pradesh, Congress says it will go alone . 2023-12-03 . Hindustan Times . en.
7. News: 2018-11-01 . TRS, BJP say Naidu meeting Rahul is 'unholy alliance' of Congress-TDP . The Times of India . 2023-12-03 . 0971-8257.
8. Web site: Telugu360 . 2018-11-26 . 'Praja Kutami' joint manifesto promises farm loan waiver . 2023-12-04 . Telugu360.com . en-US.
9. Web site: Somasekar . M. . 2018-11-29 . Telangana: Promises aplenty in the race to power . subscription . https://web.archive.org/web/20231204140915/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/telangana-promises-aplenty-in-the-race-to-power/article25625527.ece . 4 December 2023 . 2023-12-04 . The Hindu BusinessLine . en.