Telugu Association of North America (TANA) has been in existence for nearly four decades now.
One of the premier associations of Telugus in the US, TANA has members spread across the US and is now due for elections.
One would have thought that being a representative body of Telugus based in the US, there would be a certain decorum and dignity associated with the election campaign for TANA. But no! The environment is absolutely reflective of an election in a village back home in Andhra Pradesh.
The usual mud -slinging by candidates, enticing the voters with gifts, especially the youth with fancy gadgets, promises to look into this or that, etc are all in vogue.
As soon as a prospective voter gets home or receives the postal ballot, he is flooded with calls, e-mails or in-person visits by the candidates’ men. Control over TANA means a direct access to the powers- that- be back in Andhra Pradesh.
The community that is in power in AP currently is also trying to wrest control over TANA. Hence, this bitterly fought campaign.
In fact, casteism seems to take an even more extreme form in the US than in India and the TANA election campaign is a true showcase to this fact.
