Major Political Developments in AP MLC Elections

In Andhra Pradesh, the Congress will consider whether or not to field a sixth contestant in the fray for the Legislative Council elections on Monday. Announcing the names of the party candidates — Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy (sitting) , Lakshmi Siva Kumari (sitting), Kolagatla Veerabhadra Swamy, Santosh Kumar and former Mohammed Ali Shabbir, APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana said that if a a no-trist motion is moved, the strength of the YSR Congress would get exposed.

The Congress will nominate four members to the Council in the Governor’s quota. Among them are: Konateti Satyanarayana Raju, Vani (daughter of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao). The other two names too are finalised, but will be announced at an appropriate time.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy wants to “show his strength” by having a sixth contestant in the fray. The Congress is considering suggesting to the Speaker to accept the resignations that are pending with him. This would automatically change the number of MLAs required for voting each candidate. This would jeopardize the chances of the contestant of YSR Congress. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister is keen on the sixth element as the TRS doesn’t have the required numbers. The BJP has three MLAs, the CPI-M and Lok Satha have one each and the affiliations of different MLAs are presenting a confusing picture. At this juncture, Kiran Reddy wants to curry favour of the situation.

Botcha too said: “We would show our strength on the floor of  the House.” He said that the party did a balancing act taking all equations into consideration. Botcha gave a brief intro about all those fielded by the party. He also spoke about the caste equations referring to the castes f Kolagatla Veerabhadra Swamy, Lakshmi Siva Kumari, Shabbir and others.

He said that 160 leaders applied for the MLC posts and the party would utilise the services of those who could not get the tickets. As regards representation to Rayalaseema region, he said that there was none from the region among the outgoing candidates.

“If t hey have the numbers, they can move a no-confidence motion. Their strength and our position would all stand exposed.” Botcha’s long explanation smacked of diffidence as he began referring to the party’s commitment to welfare schemes, its commitment to public, and the party policies pursued by the party irrespective of who was at the helm of affairs.

He suddenly spoke of the Telugu Desam Party also without any provocation or reason. However, the second-rung leaders of the party, who suddenly catapulted to becoming the helmsmen, are indulging in effective politicking and hogging the limelight.