Hyderabad: With the defection of 12 MLAs, the Congress in Telangana state is set to lose the status of the main Opposition party in the Assembly.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will cease to be the opposition leader in the Assembly, and the Congress will be recognised as a group, instead of as the main Opposition party.
To get status of the main Opposition party in the Assembly, a political party has to have one-tenth of the total MLAs in the Assembly. TS has 120 members in the Assembly — 119 MLAs and one nominated member. So, in order to get the status of the main Opposition party, 12 MLAs are required. Congress now has only six MLAs — Mr Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Mr D. Sridhar Babu, Ms Dasari Anasuya (Seethakka), Mr Podem Veeraiah, Mr Turpu Jaya Prakash Reddy (Jagga Reddy) and Mr Komatireddy Raja Gopal Reddy.
After the Assembly elections, Congress MLAs had elected Mr Vikramarka as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. The Assembly Speaker had also recognised the Congress as the main Opposition party and Mr Vikramarka as leader of Opposition.
Mr Vikramarka could enjoy this status for only one session. Once the Speaker issues the notification of merging the CLP into the TRSLP, he will also issue notification de-notifying the Opposition status of the Congress and the leader of Opposition status of Mr Vikramarka. In the coming budget session, the Congress will not be the main Opposition party in the TS Assembly.
