As expected, the crossing over of two TDP MLAs to TRS is paving the way for the merger of rebel-TDP with ruling Telangana Rasthra Samiti (TRS) resolving the anti-defection controversy once for all.

Former TDP floor leader in Telangana Assembly Errabelli Dayakar Rao on Friday urged Assembly speaker Madhusudanachary to treat all the MLAs from TDP as a split in the party and treat them as separate group so that they could merge with ruling party.

Writing a letter to the Speaker, Dayakar Rao said all the 10 MLAs, who quit the TDP, were in favor of merging their group with TRS.

” We all met yesterday at the TRS office and unanimously decided to merge the group with TRS,” Errabelli said in his letter.

He urged the speaker to allow them to merge with ruling party as per Section 4 of Schedule 10 of constitution of India. The letter was signed by Talasani Srinivasa Yadava( commercial taxes minister), Errabelli Dayakar Rao, G Sayanna, Prakash Goud, Teegela Krishna Reddy, Manchireddy Kishan Reddy, M Krishna Rao, KP Vivekananda Goud, Dharama Reddy and Rajender Reddy.

Following the defection of party MLA Talasani Krishna Yadav last year, TDP had been petitioning the speaker for an action against Srinivas Yadav as per provisions of anti-defection law. The party put pressure on the speaker to disqualify him as he was made minister, even though technically he was still in TDP and TDP had expelled him from the party. The matter even reached the High Court and where it is under consideration. Similarly Congress also had put pressure on the government to take action against Srinivas Yadav. Party former MLA from Sanath Nagar M Sashidhar Reddy approached the court to direct the speaker to act on his petition.

Now, with adequate number of MLAs quitting the TDP to make it look like a split in the party, all the TDP MLAs want the speaker’s permission to get their groups merged with TRS.