YSRCP, TDP chalk out plans to win RS polls

Vijayawada: Hectic political activity has begun in the state with the announcement of biennial Rajya Sabha polls by the Election Commission on Monday. Elections will be held on February 27 for three seats from Andhra Pradesh. The YSRCP which has 151 members in the Assembly should have been in a happy position to get all three of the candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha.

But as the elections are scheduled just ahead of the general elections for the Assembly and Lok Sabha in the state and as political equations are fast changing, there is nervousness among the ruling party.

The massive exercise taken up by the YSRCP to change MLAs and MPs whose performance has not been good and the experiment to shift some of the sitting MLAs and MPs to other constituencies has led to serious dissent within the party. Some of them had quit the ruling party and are trying to join the TDP or Jana Sena or the Congress.

In the backdrop of this situation, the TDP which has 23 MLAs is keen to take advantage and field a candidate. It feels that there would be cross voting and this would help them to win one seat. Sensing the possible trouble, the YSRCP in a quick move accepted the resignation of TDP MLA Ganta Srinivas Rao three years after he had resigned in protest against the Centre’s move to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and had put pressure on the Speaker to disqualify YSRCP MLAs like Anam Ramnaranayana Reddy, Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy. Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy and Undavalli Sridevi.

In a counter move, the TDP sought disqualification of the TDP members like Karnam Balaram and others who switched loyalties from the TDP to the ruling party.

As per rules a candidate who gets 44 votes would be declared elected. With those who defected from the YSRCP to TDP the party has 23 MLAs. If the Speaker disqualifies the migrant MLAs the strength of the TDP would be down to 19. But still the TDP is of the view that all the dissident MLAs in the YSRCP will indulge in cross voting and they can get one seat. They claim that over 25 MLAs are in touch with them.

The YSRCP also does not rule out such a possibility and hence has asked its top leaders to coordinate with all the MLAs and see that TDP’s game plan fails. The party leaders have been told to track every movement of the YSRCP MLAs and find out who is in touch with whom. They have also been told to give necessary assurances to the dissident MLAs. Those who are retiring from the Rajya Sabha are Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar of the TDP, BJP member C M Ramesh and YSRCP member Prabhakar Reddy Vemireddy.