Bypoll fear haunts MLAs
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With the state’s political situation continuing to be fluid, with no signs of the ice breaking on the issue of its bifurcation, the MLAs who were either suspended or resigned from their membership are not in a mood to face another set of bypolls. Suspended Telugu Desam Gudivada MLA Kodali Nani's announcement on Sunday that he would contest as a YSR Congress nominee only in the 2014 general elections and the silence of two Congress MLAs, Sujaya Krishna Ranga Rao (Bobbili) and Alla Nani (Eluru) on their resignation letters is an indication of the mood of the fence-sitting MLAs.
Sources in the Telugu Desam also confirm that the party is not in a mood to move a disqualification petition with the Assembly Speaker for taking action against the five MLAs it suspended recently. In earlier cases, the TD, after suspending the MLAs, also moved the Speaker's office with disqualification petitions.
However, the party's silence indicates that is not in a mood to face yet another set of byelections.
Even suspended MLAs K. Harishwar Reddy, S. Venugopala Chary, Chinn-am Ramakotaiah, Y. Bala Nagireddy and Kodali Nani didn’t say they inte-nd to approach the Speaker with their resignations. Similarly, the two Congress MLAs, Sujaya Krishna Ranga Rao and Alla Nani, who submitted their resignations almost a month ago, did not bother to press for their acceptance by meeting the Speaker.
But a source in the TRS has said that more MLAs from TD and Congress will quit if the Congress central leadership says a firm “no” to Telangana statehood. The general mood among the parties is that the general elections of 2014 are not that far away for ano-ther round of bypolls now. According to Election Commission rules too, the Commission is not bound to conduct a bypoll if the general election or remainder term is less than a year. This means no bypolls can be conducted beyond May 2013. Even if the MLAs who resigned or wish to resign insist that their letters be accepted, the process takes time as the Speaker is bound to consider the legal issues, including the ongoing cases in the High Court. Sources said that the Speaker was not in a hurry to decide on the fate of the two MLAs’ resignations lying with him as there was also a case pending in the AP High Court, directing the Speaker not to accept the resignations.
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