Hyderabad: It’s a drama of consolidation and decimation that is unfolding in the political scenario of the two sibling Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Praesh of late! While the ruling parties in both the States have been consolidating their strengths, the main Opposition parties — Congress, TDP and YSRCP — have been steadily crumbling.
As a matter of fact, within two years after the last elections, the Congress and the TDP have been completely decimated in Telangana while the only Opposition party in Andhra Pradesh has become a sinking ship. Interestingly, both Chief Ministers K. Chandrashekar Rao of Telangana and N. Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh have successfully employed “Operation Akarsh” to consolidate their respective ruling parties’ strength and decimate the Opposition parties.
In the last elections, of the 119 seats in the Telangana Assembly, the TRS won 69 seats, the Congress 21, TDP 13, MIM 7, BJP 5, Left parties, YSRCP and Independent one each. Realizing that the TRS was weak in the GHMC limits and with an eye on the elections to one of the biggest municipal corporations of the country (GHMC), KCR began his “Operation Akarsh” and succeeded in wooing Talasani Srinivas Yadav, TDP MLA from Sanathnagar Constituency and immediately inducted him into his cabinet. The exodus thus began from the TDP to TRS. One by one in all as many as 10 TDP members defected to TRS reducing the strength of the TDP in Telangana to only three. Though R Krishniaiah, who was elected on TDP ticket, has not jumped into any party, he proclaims himself to be representing the BCs and not associating with the yellow party. Thus, the TDP strength in the Telangana Assembly is reduced to two. Even from the Congress, five members have shifted their loyalty to TRS bringing down its strength from 21 to 16. Thus the TRS managed to increase its tally from 69 to 85. Even MLCs from both the TDP and the Congress jumped into TRS during this period.
When the TDP members began to desert the party and joined the TRS, Chandrababu Naidu cried hoarse and accused KCR of indulging in unethical practices and killing democratic principles. However, Chandrababu Naidu applied the same tactics of his bete noir KCR in encouraging defections from YSRCP by employing the same “Operation Akarsh”. The exodus from YSRCP to TDP began with Bhuma Nagi Reddy and his daughter, both staunch supporters of YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy joining the yellow brigade with reported assurance that Bhuma Nagi Reddy would be inducted into the AP Cabinet. Till date, a total of 10 MLAs and one MLC from YSRCP jumped into the TDP bandwagon.
The latest to join the TDP from the YSRCP were V. Subba Rao from Prathipadu constituency in East Godavari district and P. Sunil Kumar from Guduru (SC) in Nellore district. Thus the TDP which won 104 seats of the 175-member Assembly in AP, has improved its strength to 114. Speculations were rife that more YSRCP members were waiting in the wings to jump the fence as they too seemed to be considering the party to be a sinking ship. The present strength of the YSRCP has come down from 67 to 57 till date.
It is pertinent to note here that the exodus in YSRCP began soon after Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy boasted that there were many TDP members ready to join his party and that if he wanted, the TDP government could be pulled down at any time. But he seemed to have committed a faux paus as many YSRCP members were joining the TDP and not the other way round. (NSS)
Political drama of consolidation and decimation on in TS, AP
