Telugu Desam supremo Chandrababu Naidu appears to be inching towards causing a split in the opposition YSR Congress. At least, this is the impression one gets if one sees the unabated migrations into his Telugu Desam Party from the opposition YSR Congress party.
Every day springs a surprise. It has become difficult for media people to keep track on the MLAs deserting Jaganmohan Reddy. The defection of YSRC MLAs to TDP, in fact, has gained momentum , after Jagan has given a call for ‘Save Democracy’ .
After Kadiri MLA Chand Basha, Srisailam MLA Budda Rajasekhar Reddy announced that the was consulting his followers on the course of action. The word consultation is the euphemism for the decision the MLA has taken to defect to the other party. After Budda, today, Araku MLA, K Sarveswar Rao began consultations with his followers. These two MLAs are expected to join the TDP in a day or two.
Jagan is planning to make the defection a national issue. He is leading a delegation of all MLAs and MPs to Delhi to meet the President and Prime Minister along the heads all national parties. Nobody is sure of how many of these MLAs would remain with Jagan after their return to Hyderabad from New Delhi.
Jagan wants to raise the issue of non-implementability of the disqualification provisions in the Anti-defection law with national leaders. He wants to complain to the national leaders on how chief minister Naidu and speaker Kodela Sivaprasarao had colluded to save the defector from being disqualified. He is expected to urge the President and centre on the need to amend the statute to make disqualification automatic once an MLA joins the other party in the Assembly without resigning from the party on whose B form he contested the elections and won.
The YSRCP MLAs will camp in Delhi for three days till April 27. It is learnt that the party is carrying a book , a compilation of documents that show CM Naidu’s corruption in the state, to buttress their criticism that Naidu was using the money he got as commission to ‘lure’ MLAs into TDP.
Given the steady flow of MLAs from YSRC into TDP, it may not take long for defectors to outnumber original MLAs and declare themselves as the real YSRC to circumvent the disqualification under anti-defection law. Once the defectors cross halfway mark of the original strength of 67, they can convene their own YSRCP Legislature party meeting and election somebody as the leader and get the opposition leader recognition.
