Telugu Desam's stand on defectors in Telangana lands it in a corner
Hyderabad: The stand taken by the Telugu Desam in Telangana state towards defectors is expected to become a hurdle for the party in Andhra Pradesh as it prepares to welcome some YSR Congress MLAs into the party fold. In Telangana, 10 Telugu Desam MLAs have joined the TRS, and the Telugu Desam leadership has been demanding that these defectors resign from the membership of the House. The Telugu Desam has also lodged a complaint with the Telangana Assembly Speaker, demanding he disqualify the Telugu Desam MLAs who joined the TRS.
Against this background, if the Telugu Desam allows YSRC MLAs to join the party in Andhra Pradesh, it stands to lose the moral high ground against defectors it has adopted in Telangana. The TRS leadership has officially welcomed the Telugu Desam MLAs into the party fold, but the Telugu Desam leadership is not in a similar position in Andhra Pradesh. YSRC MP S.P.Y. Reddy is sailing with the Telugu Desam after the elections, even to the extent of attending party meetings, but the Telugu Desam leadership has never publicly acknowledged that he has joined the party.
On Thursday, Deputy CM K.E. Krishna Murthy and other ministers had countered YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s claim that some Telugu Desam MLAs would be joining his party by saying that about 28 YSRC MLAs were ready to join the ruling party. Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu too had been claiming during party meetings that 10 YSRC MLAs were ready to join the Telugu Desam. However, Telugu Desam leaders had been repeatedly making this claim, but none of the YSRC MLAs had switched sides so far.
If indeed some do, the Telugu Desam will have to face accusations of being hypocritical in its approach, having opposed defections in Telangana. If it does welcome any YSRC MLA it cannot question defections in Telangana. If some YSRC MLAs do want to join the Telangana, the party’s leadership cannot openly and officially welcome them, like the TRS has done in Telangana. The only option the Telugu Desam has would be to ask the YSRC MLAs to resign from the House, but that is an option no MLA would be ready to take.
