Though AP chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is on the upbeat by winning the no confidence move against his government, his party is in dilemma over seeking disqualification of 16 of its MLAs who defied the party whip and voted in favour of the no-confidence motion.

The state Congress is said to be concerned over the prospect of facing by-elections to 24 seats in one go, at a time when it is facing rough weather in Telangana region over the statehood issue and due to the Jaganmohan Reddy factor in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions. It will be a miracle if the Congress wins even one seat in Telangana as it faces strong antagonism in the region for the "dilly-dallying" on the statehood issue, political observers say.

The mood is also not said to be favourable for the party in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions because of the 'Jagan factor', it is said. By-elections will become inevitable to these 16 seats currently held by the Congress and another by the Praja Rajyam, if these MLAs are disqualified for violating their respective party whips. Though another Congress MLA defied the whip and abstained from voting in the no-confidence motion, the party is in no mood to proceed against him now, informed sources said.

PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana and several senior ministers, who met Kiran Kumar Reddy at the CM's camp office this morning and discussed about the issue. While the ministers and Botsa unanimously opined that the defying MLAs should be disqualified, the chief minister reportedly told them that he would seek party affairs of the state incharge Mr. Gulam Nabi Azad's opinion in this regard and then will take a decision.

The stakes will be too high for the Congress in all the regions as it is the party in power, the observers say. Already, its own strength has been reduced to just 137 in the 294-member House following resignations and defections by MLAs. Probably that could be the reason for Kiran Kumar Reddy choosing to put the onus on Gulam Nabi Azad to decide the fate of the 16 MLAs who defied the whip.

 

 

 

Video Source: snehatv.com