Chandrababu Naidu did what NTR refused to

Subsequently, Mr Naidu welcomed 14 MLCs from different political parties into the TD, without insisting that they resign from their posts.

This was contrary to what TD’s founder-president N.T. Rama Rao did it in 1982. When four Congress legislators approached him and expressed interest in joining the TD without offering to resign from their posts, NTR insisted they tender their resignations first. Finally, only two of the four legislators turned up.

Mr Naidu’s decision to welcome MLCs into TD fold triggered TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao telling his party leaders to promote mass scale defections into the TRS, which had only 63 MLAs in a House of 119 at the time of formation of the new state.

Thus far, six MLAs, five MLCs from the TD, five MLAs and 10 MLCs from Congress, two MLAs each from the YSR Congress and BSP have joined the TRS. And not one of these legislators have resigned from their post.

It became a mockery on the part of ruling parties to defend the defections, claiming that the legislators are switching sides attracted by the vision of “Bangaru Telangana” or “Swarna Andhra Pradesh”.