2 voter IDs, 2 ration cards — welcome to Kotia, cluster of disputed villages on Andhra-Odisha border

Kotia: Voters in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha can soon cast two votes — with the general and state elections being held simultaneously —  but there are some who may cast four.

Welcome to the Kotia cluster, a group of 21 disputed villages crammed together in remote hills on the Andhra-Odisha border, about 150 km from Vishakhapatnam. Here, residents say they can vote for two state governments and also cast two votes for the one at the Centre, if they choose to. The total population of these villages is over 5,000, according to local officials.

They’ll be able to do it all in a single day, too — all 25 of Andhra Pradesh’s Lok Sabha constituencies and Odisha’s Koraput, Berhampore, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi seats, as well as the assembly segments under these, will go to the polls in the fourth phase on 13 May.

These villages fall under the Koraput Lok Sabha constituency and Pottangi assembly seat in Odisha and the Araku Lok Sabha constituency and Salur assembly seat in Andhra Pradesh.

Some are planning to take full advantage of the situation. “I plan to vote in Odisha in the morning and will trek down to a booth in Andhra later in the day,” says a voter, speaking in Odia, in a village known as Ganjeipadar in Odia and Ganjaibhadra in Telugu.

Ganjeipadar in Odia near Kotia is known Ganjaibadra in Telugu | Prasad Nichenametla | ThePrint

Ganjeipadar in Odia near Kotia is known Ganjaibadra in Telugu | Prasad Nichenametla | ThePrint

A few kilometres away towards the Andhra side at Dorala Tadivalasa, a woman says the same. She possesses two voter ID cards and voted on both sides last time. “We do the same every time. I’ll use my two votes this time, too.” With two sets of elections, that comes to four votes.

Residents gleefully display their two voter ID cards — one in English/Telugu identifying them as a voter in the Araku constituency in Andhra Pradesh and the other in English/Odia showing them as a voter of Koraput in Odisha. They say that by the end of polling day, the index fingers of both their left and right hands will be inked.

Neither state nor election officials seem too bothered about this. For now, both governments function here, and both give out benefits to the residents.

“Yes, it’s a peculiar situation we are aware of. Some locals there chose to enrol as voters in two assembly constituencies – in two different states, hence they have two voter cards,” Nishant Kumar, collector and district electoral officer of Parvathipuram Manyam district in Andhra Pradesh, tells ThePrint.

According to Kumar, the chief electoral officers of both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are seized of the matter but an immediate solution is unlikely.

A Andhra Pradesh govt-run anganwadi at Dorala Tadivalasa | Prasad Nichenametla | ThePrint

An Andhra Pradesh govt-run anganwadi at Dorala Tadivalasa | Prasad Nichenametla | ThePrint

Officials say the dispute has been ongoing since British rule in India and a case has been before the Supreme Court since 1968, with both states claiming — “with concrete evidence”, according to an official— that these villages are theirs. An improper survey is given as a reason.

Both Lok Sabha constituencies and both assembly seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (STs), owing to the large tribal population — consisting of communities such as the Jatapu, Kondh, Kondadora and Mookadora  — in these undulating hills in the Eastern Ghats.

Infrastructure vs welfare

Each state appears to be trying to woo the residents to its side — Odisha with an infrastructure push and Andhra with a rush of welfare schemes.

If you’re travelling from the Andhra side, Nerellavalasa is the first disputed village you’ll come to. Bhaskar Rao Gemmeli, who’s about 50 years old, is here to collect his monthly ration of 5 kg of rice at the PDS outlet operated by Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik government.

He’ll then return to his Mula-Tadivalasa hamlet but plans to trek back here in a few days’ time when the AP PDS outlet opens, to collect the rice offered by Andhra Pradesh’s Jagan Mohan Reddy government. He has two PDS ration cards to go with his two voter ID cards.

A furlong away, a health team from Odisha’s Pottangi Community Health Centre is making household visits to carry out check-ups. The team consists of an auxiliary nurse midwife, a pharmacist, a driver and an attendant.

Andhra’s 104 service van, with a doctor and primary health centre-like facilities, will be here in a few days.

While Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government gives out old-age pensions of Rs 1,000 per month, Andhra’s YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) administration gives Rs 3,000 monthly.

Several Odia speaking families too, officials say, are sending their children to AP-run schools to get the benefit of CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Amma-vodi incentive, which provides Rs 15,000 annually to poor mothers who send their kids to school, besides free school kit “Vidya-kanuka” along with uniforms, books, bag, shoes and nutritious food under Goru-mudda programme.

On the other hand, the roads in better shape here are those built by Odisha, as are the well-built schools, anganwadis, hostels and police stations with Odia boards. The Naveen Patnaik government has even restored a British-era road.

British-era road restored by the Naveen Patnaik government in Kotia | Prasad Nichenametla | ThePrint

British-era road restored by the Naveen Patnaik government in Kotia | Prasad Nichenametla | ThePrint

A local government official points to two sets of electricity poles along the narrow ghat roads, saying the newer, sturdier ones were laid by Odisha.

While podu (shifting cultivation on the hill slopes) is the main occupation of these tribal people, an official remarks that with the rations, pensions and other welfare benefits given by two governments, “They really don’t have to worry over livelihood.

‘How long should this dilemma continue?’

Although a majority of Kotia villagers appear not to be bothered, or even seem delighted at getting best of the two governments, a few say there should now be an end to the decades-long dispute.

Andhra Pradesh, which claims Kotia as part of its Parvathipuram Manyam district, and Odisha, which includes the cluster under Koraput, often clash over matters of administration.

The boundary dispute has been causing occasional tensions, when political leaders, especially prominent ones, descend on these hills, allegedly trying to provoke the peaceful tribals.

Last year in April, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is from Odisha, visited the Kotia cluster on occasion of Utkal Diwas and allegedly raised “Go back Andhra” slogans, objecting to the presence of Andhra police personnel on duty there.

Reacting to the “objectionable remarks”, AP Deputy CM and local (Salur) MLA Rajanna Dora then demanded an apology from Pradhan, while reminding him that the territorial dispute was sub judice, with the Supreme Court having ordered status quo — which allows officials of both governments to operate in the disputed area.

Laxman Rao Vanthala of Dorala Tadivalasa, who seems to prefer to be on the Andhra side, says that Odisha officials objected to the local residents voting in the 2021 Andhra panchayat polls, citing the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason.

“How long should this dilemma continue? Let the two governments sit across the table – if not once, twice, four or five times — to arrive at a resolution so that we can firmly say we belong to Andhra or Odisha,” he says.

In November 2021, Andhra CM Jagan met Odisha CM Patnaik in Bhubaneshwar, where the two discussed several pending issues between the two governments, such as irrigation projects over the Vamsadhara River as well as the Kotia cluster. No visible progress has been made thereafter.

“An amicable resolution needs strong will and healthy cooperation from both sides,” says one district official.

Away from political din

Unlike in the plains where cities, towns, and villages are drowned in the din of election campaigns, the only sounds here are the chirping of the birds, and some rumbling streams, even as the intense heat in the hills scorches.

An Andhra police officer on his usual placid rounds testifies to the peaceful nature of Kotia: He says no FIR has been registered in the area for months and the people hardly get into quarrels, which he attributes to their abstinence from alcohol.

A woman walks past a local government office building in Kotia | Prasad Nichenametla | ThePrint

A woman walks past a local government office building in Kotia | Prasad Nichenametla | ThePrint

Though there is no apparent political activity, a couple of houses here sport YSRCP flags on their roofs. Villagers say Jagan’s YSRCP has a good support base because there’s a large converted Christian population (Jagan himself being Christian). Churches can be spotted frequently in Kotia.

Kotia, the biggest of these villages — which gives its name to the overall cluster — also has a striking Odia/Odisha influence, with many government signboards in the language and some Naveen Patnaik pictures that escaped the Election Commission’s screening.

On the other hand, Google Maps’ state boundaries show Kotia as falling in Andhra Pradesh.