Palnadu violence: YSRCP-TDP feud revives memories of a 12th-century war

Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu area, in Guntur district, was under restrictions in mid-September 2019 as the ruling YSR Congress Party and the opposition Telugu Desam Party accused each other of attacks on their workers. On Monday, authorities stopped state BJP president Kanna Lakshminarayana from heading to the region for a sit-in over alleged police harassment of his party’s workers.

The current confrontation

The TDP has alleged that several of its supporters have been killed and hundreds attacked by YSRCP members, largely in Palnadu, since the May election results brought Jagan Mohan Reddy to power. Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu said about 120 families had left the area, and the TDP opened a “rehabilitation shelter” in Guntur for those it says were targeted. It also claims false cases were filed against its cadres at the urging of local leaders.

Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh had been placed under house arrest when they tried to hold a Chalo Atmakur rally on September 11, and he was refused permission to visit Atmakur in Kurnool district on September 18. The YSRCP, for its part, alleged that TDP workers had attacked its activists in Atmakur and announced a rally of its own.

Curbs on public assembly were imposed in Palnadu under Section 144 of the CrPC, along with Section 30 of the Police Act. Guntur superintendent of police R Jayalakshmi told reporters on Sunday that politicians would be kept out of sensitive villages as a precaution, though the media faced no bar, and that the area was calm and under control. TDP leaders likened the situation to Kashmir.

A war remembered

The region carries memories of a 12th-century conflict between two half-brothers of the Palanati Kalachuri line. King Anuguraju named his son Nalagamaraju as heir, under the guardianship of minister Brahmanaidu. Brahmanaidu, a Vaishnavite, founded the Veera Vaishnavism sect and gave equal standing to untouchables, provoking a conservative backlash led by Nagamma, who became Nalagamaraju’s chief adviser.

Nalagamaraju’s half-brother Malidevaraju set up a rival kingdom at Macherla with Brahmanaidu’s backing. After a cockfight defeat, Nagamma banished Malideva’s camp for seven years and then refused to return their land. The resulting war, fought at Karempudi on the Naguleru river around 1178 to 1182 and often called the Mahabharata of its time, ended with Nalagamaraju victorious and Malidevaraju dead.

Why the past matters

Observers say these stories are still retold in the area’s faction-ridden villages. After Independence, local rivalries aligned with political parties, and several leaders, including chief ministers, came from this belt. The present YSRCP-TDP feud is seen as the newest episode in that long history.

See also: YSR Congress Party and Telugu Desam Party.

Originally published on 16 September 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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