YSRC decides to contest all bypolls

HYDERABAD: The YSR Congress (YSRC) has decided to contest all the byelections, including those in Telangana, which will have to be held if the speaker disqualifies 17 MLAs who defied their party whips to vote against the Kiran Kumar Redy Congress government in the no-trust vote on December 5.The party’s president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy made this clear to the band of elected reps that are currently sailing with him in a meeting he convened at his Lotus Pond residence here on Thursday.Sources said the Kadapa MP is planning to tour Telangana as a preparatory step towards the byelections.“We have decided to fight all byelections regardless of where they are held. Let the Congress disqualify all of us at one go and not in batches,” said Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, one of the defiant Congress MLAs.“There is no need for the speaker to send notices to us. We all voted against the government and he was witness to it. Let the speaker disqualify all of us immediately.”Of the 17 whip-violating MLAs (16 of the Congress and one from the PRP, Shobha Nagi Reddy), three did not turn up at Jagan’s meeting Thursday: Konda Surekha, G Srikanth Reddy and Kapu Ramachandra Reddy.Party sources said they were preoccupied with some other work. Of the MPs loyal to Jagan, only Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy turned up. There was no trace of Anakapalli MP Sabbam Hari.Jagan is understood to have asked the MLAs how confident they are about winning the byelections if the speaker disqualified them. Sources said he has inputs that the party may not fare well in at least three constituencies including Parkal and Rayachoti if byelections are held.If the YSRC wins a majoirty of the byelections, the MP hopes to lure more MLAs out of the Congress.The election of B Sriramulu in the recent Bellary byelection in spite of the corruption charges against him has apparently cheered up the YSR Congress. One MLA who attended in Thursday’s meeting said, “Corruption is no issue in Indian politics. People are reconciled to it.”Opinion among those who met on Thursday seemed to be that the Congress will not move on the 17 rebels till byelections to five currently vacant seats in Telangana and one in coastal Andhra are notified. Jagan reportedly observed that the Congress might call the local body elections first. In such a case, the party should be ready for that fight as well.According to one MLA, Jagan is eager to to fight the byelections sooner rather than later as there are signs of his charisma waning. The significance of the gradual decline in attendance at his Odarpu shows is not lost on him.Another rebel legislator Dharmana Krishna Das said: “The Congress is dragging its feet on disqualifying us because it knows that we will win a majority of byelections. The party appears to be under the impression that a delay will turn the situation in its favour.”