N. G. Ranga

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In 1951, in a closely contested presidential election of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, Ranga was defeated by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. Due to ideological differences, Ranga and Tanguturi Prakasam resigned from Congress and organized the Hyderabad State Praja Party, which was further split into the Krishikar Lok Party (KLP) for peasants, under the leadership of Ranga as the president. KLP contested the 1951 Lok Sabha elections, winning one seat. KLP also contested the 1952 Madras Legislative Assembly election and won 15 seats. In the 1955 Andhra State Legislative Assembly election, Congress, Praja Party and KLP formed an alliance and KLP won 22 seats. After the election, on the request of Nehru, Ranga merged KLP with the Congress party. He was elected to Congress in the 1957 general election from Tenali Lok Sabha constituency.

Ranga’s differences with Nehru were visible from the beginning. As part of the Kumarappa Committee on land reforms, he did not support land ceiling measures. Ranga was also opposed to the whole socialist apparatus of the Five-Year Plans and Planning Commission. He refused to join Nehru’s cabinet when offered a ministerial berth. In response to Nehru’s advocacy of cooperative farming, Ranga mobilized lakhs of peasants in Machilipatnam to oppose the abolition of property rights by the state. The 1959 Nagpur Resolution of INC was the final straw. The socialists in Congress proposed cooperative farming to emulate Mao’s collectivization drive. The threat to property rights in an increasingly socialist India galvanized a disparate set of anti-Congress leaders to come together and form the Swatantra Party. Ranga became the party's first president.

As a Swatantrite parliamentarian, Ranga’s advocacy of liberty was most visible during the debates over the proposed 17th amendment in 1964. The amendment would empower state governments to acquire land from ordinary farmers without paying for it. Ranga’s rousing speech in Parliament against the bill led to its defeat. Ranga’s concern for farmers’ welfare was recognized by Nehru, who said, “As long as Rangaji is in Parliament, the Indian peasants could sleep without any worry.” On the question of his opposition to Nehru, Ranga clarified: “It was for the freedom of the peasants and in defense of dharma. I’ve visualized the resulting implications of his anti-farmer policies. Knowing fully well that opposing Pandit Nehru can be politically dangerous to me, I performed my duty in defense of my convictions."

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