MLAs got richer overnight

The no-confidence motion introduced by the Telugu Desam Party in the state assembly has turned out to be an excellent opportunity to many MLAs from various parties to reap rich benefits.
It was a sort of windfall for the Praja Rajyam Party MLAs, as the Congress high command has assured them to take care of all their interests besides reportedly handing over “suitcases” to them.
On the other hand, several Congress MLAs in the camp of YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, too, have been lured back into the Congress with monetary and other benefits.
The Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (MIM) also rightly used the opportunity to blackmail the Congress party and got the Hyderabad Mayor seat for the next three years, instead of just two years, as a sort of gift for saving the Kiran government.
At the same time, the Congress party has also managed to silence its rebels like Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and P Shankar Rao to vote for the Kiran government, though they are bitter critics of him.
It is yet to be known what “settlement” they had reached to vote for the Chief Minister. The Congress leaders are also allegedly “managed” Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLA Ch Ramesh to stay back in Germany in the name of flight problems.
Unfortunately, only the TDP legislators could not get anything in the bargain. “We are moving the no-trust motion and you are getting the benefits,” a TDP legislator commented with a rebel Congress MLA in the assembly.

Will Jagan serve a surprise punch?

The ruling Congress seems to be confident of getting through the no-confidence motion today without much of a hitch. Despite all the jockeying by various parties, the numbers still seem to favour Kiran Kumar Reddy government.

The ruling combine commands 162 MLAs on its side, while the opposition could muster only 124 MLAs as of now. The PRP threat passed off as a storm in a cup and the less than convincing attempt of TRS to provoke T Congress MLAs to vote against the government failed miserably.
The MIM, after the understanding reached over Hyderabad Mayor post, is all set to support the government.
Jagan is still making last ditch efforts to throw a surprise by continually talking to his group MLAs, many of whom have already declared their vote to the Congress Party. His reported attempts at luring some T Congress MLAs yielded little result.
While Kiran’s government is under no threat of losing on the floor, the no-confidence is still generating lot of interest because of any unexpected developments in the Jagan camp. Even if a few Jagan MLAs vote for the motion, it would indeed trigger important political developments in the state, as by-polls would be necessitated, and Jagan’s YSR Congress will have an opportunity to prove its mettle in the electoral arena.
It is also to be seen who Lok Satta Jayaprakash Narayan, Associate Member Somarapu Satyanarayana (issued a Congress whip and Sobha Nagireddy (earlier PRP and now a Jagan loyalist) will vote for.

Congress, TDP, TRS whip MLAs

The ruling Congress and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Sunday issued whips to their legislators on the opposition's no-confidence motion in the assembly.
While Congress directed all its 153 members in the 295-member house to vote against the TDP's no-confidence motion, the main opposition party asked its 86 legislators to back the motion when it comes up for voting Monday. TRS also asked all its 12 MLAs to be present in the house and vote for the motion.
Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) has not yet issued a whip to its lawmakers, keeping the Congress on its toes amid continuing uncertainty over the fate of the no-confidence motion.
PRP chief K. Chiranjeevi Sunday met 17 legislators of his party, who openly voiced unhappiness over being sidelined by the Congress even after the merger.
Since PRP remains a separate block in the assembly pending disposal of a petition in court by a PRP legislator challenging the merger, Chiranjeevi will have to issue a whip to ensure that all the legislators vote against the motion.
Unhappy over the delay in accommodating them in the state cabinet and other posts, the PRP MLAs are mounting pressure for their pound of flesh to bail-out the government.
Chiranjeevi briefed the MLAs about the assurance given by central Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to him last night. However, the meeting could not take a decision on issuing a whip as some leaders wanted that they be allowed to vote according to their conscience.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress party chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy is holding a crucial meeting with Congress legislators loyal to him to take a final decision on his strategy. Twenty-one legislators, who met him Saturday, said they were ready to vote against the government and face by-elections if they were disqualified for violating party whip.
Two other loyalists opposed Jagan's decision to vote against the government and walked out of Saturday's meeting.
As many as 26 Congress rebels had switched loyalties to Jagan in August but some of them have since returned to the party fold.
Congress leaders including ministers met some of Jagan loyalists and handed them the party whip.
The ruling party is confident of defeating the motion with the support of PRP and its ally Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which has seven members.
PRP has 18 members in assembly but one of them Shoba Nagi Reddy is sailing with Jagan.
As there are seven vacancies in 295-member house (including a nominated member), Congress needs 144 votes to defeat the motion. The ruling party is sure of garnering 157 votes even if 21 rebels vote against it.
The parties which are in support of motion include CPI (4), BJP (2), CPI-M, Lok Satta and YSR Congress one each and one independent.

T-Congress MLAs in dilemma

More than anybody else, the no-confidence motion has put the Telangana Congress legislators in a piquant situation. There is a fear among a section of them that they could be branded as enemies of Telangana if they do not support the no-trust motion.
The reason is that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi has been projecting the no-confidence motion as a means to protest against the delay in creation of separate Telangana state. It has been making public statements that any vote in favour of the Congress government would be seen by the people of Telangana as a vote against the statehood cause.
“The pro-government voting will be viewed as supporting the betrayal of the statehood cause,” the TRS sources said. This has put the T-Congress MLAs in a fix. They can neither jettison the statehood cause nor can they afford to defy the party whipe and face disqualification from the Assembly.
The TRS Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has already gone on record, appealing to all MLAs from the Telangana region, irrespective of their party affiliation, to vote in favour of the No- Confidence Motion against the Kiran Kumar Reddy Government which is responsible for the delay in creation of separate state.
“The Chief Minister has been using coercive methods to suppress the Telangana agitation and therefore, he must not be allowed to continue in power,” KCR said.

Its Jagan behind PRP MLAs revolt!!

The sudden heat generated in megastar-politician Chiranjeevi camp on the day the Opposition parties were gearing up for no-confidence motion against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government has raised many eyebrows in the political circles.
Though it is initially believed that Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana had instigated the yet-to-be wound up Praja Rajyam Party MLAs to pull down the Kiran government, reliable sources tell a different story.
Many of the MLAs in the Chiranjeevi camp were in touch with YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and had given them promise to pull down the Kiran government at the right time. They are not happy with the way the Chief Minister was ignoring them and the Congress party leaders in their respective constituencies ill-treating them.
However, Chiranjeevi, a political novice that he is, was of the view that all his MLAs would listen to his words. So, when he had a meeting of the MLAs at his chambers in the assembly, they all pulled him up for not taking up their cause with the Congress high command.
“You have ensured your own political future; you may get the union cabinet berth sooner or later. But, what about us? We have not got even corporation chairperson posts, leave alone cabinet berths in the state. We don’t even know whether we get the Congress tickets in the next elections and even if some us will get, we don’t know whether we will get support of the local Congress leaders. Instead, it is better to go the Jaganmohan Reddy camp. At least there, we will get some recognition and he would ensure our victory,” the MLAs are learnt to have told Chiranjeevi.
The megastar was taken aback with the revolt and it was only after that he had leaked to the media about the disgruntlement among his group MLAs. And Botsa had to personally intervene and pacify him.
Later in the evening, AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke to him and asked him to pacify his group MLAs. He assured to take care of the interests of the PRP legislators.

Kiran trying to divide and rule

Having realized that the Praja Rajyam Party legislators, including their leader K Chiranjeevi, are thoroughly disappointed with being ignored in his government, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has started wooing them.
According to the information reaching the Chief Minister, the PRP legislators might even vote against his government during the no-confidence motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party.
Apparently, Kiran might be apprehensive that Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanaryana could be instigating the PRP MLAs to vote for the no-confidence motion and pull down his government. That is why, the Chief Minister has begun the damage control exercise.
He asked Whip Kondru Murali to talk to Chiranjeevi and pacify him; and at the same time, he started talking to the PRP MLAs individually and seek their support. He called Kakinada rural MLA Kanna Babu to his chamber and promised to take care of his career.
“If it is not possible to convince the PRP MLAs at all at a time, he is making attempts to split them at least,” sources said.

Botsa behind PRP blackmail

Is Botsa Satyanarayana behind the sudden outburst of PRP MLAs against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government?
The PRP MLAs today openly expressed their discontent against the Congress Party for ‘humiliating’ them all through. They have been taken for granted by the ruling party since the merger, even though their support is crucial for the survival of the Kiran government.
The Chiranjeevi group, which has 18 MLAs in the Assembly, chose the critical time to vent their anger, as the TDP-led no-confidence is likely to come up anytime now.
However, there is a suspicion in the Kiran camp that Botsa is acting as the agent provocateur in the latest uprising of PRP MLAs. The PCC chief has been openly expressing his antagonism against Kiran’s style of functioning lately.
As most of the PRP MLAs are now looking up to Sattibabu as their political godfather – given that Chiru failed to come up to the task – the wily leader from North Andhra allegedly provoked the latest rebellion in the PRP ranks.
It is most likely that the PRP discontent may end up as a storm in a tea cup, because Kiran and Botsa as well as Chiru cannot afford to let down their government at this stage to play their respective political game.
Chiru and his flock are scheduled to have a meeting with Congress leaders tomorrow to sort out things.