AP Congress rebel MLAs preparing for by-polls

HYDERABAD: Even as the ruling party is delaying a decision on disqualification of its rebel MLAs who have supported the Telugu Desam’s no-confidence motion against the Kiran Kumar government in the Assembly, the MLAs loyal to YSR Congress leader and Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy have begun making preparations to face by-elections in the 17 constituencies in the event of their disqualification from the Assembly.Already, Jagan, during his Odarpu Yatra at Bodipalam village in the Prattipadu constituency in Guntur district on Wednesday, appealed to people to be prepared for byelections and give their mandate in favour of his loyalist and sitting (Congress) MLA M Sucharitha (who has defied the party whip and voted against the Kiran government in the Assembly on December 5). “She will defeat her nearest rival by a margin of more than 50,000 votes if a by-election is held,” he declared.According to party sources, the MLAs loyal to Jagan have decided to vigorously tour their constituencies to meet people at their doorstep.They have also planned to launch their (election) campaign against the Congress government in a few days. Further, they have decided to carry the YSR Congress party flag during campaigning.They are chalking out programmes for the next six months expecting byelections soon.It may be recalled that as many as 16 Congress MLAs and one PRP legislator had voted in support of the noconfidence motion. Yet, the Kiran Kumar Reddy government defeated the no-confidence motion by a margin of 38 votes.The YSR Congress sees the TDP as its main rival on the ground that it has ‘community support’ and strong party cadre at the village level in some districts where by-elections are expected. It is of the view there is strong anti-establishment mood among the people and that it has bright chances of winning at least a dozen of the 17 seats for which by-elections will have to be held in the event of disqualification of the rebels. Despite Jagan challenging the Congress leadership to disqualify his loyal MLAs, the Congress leadership is hesitant to act, the YSR Congress says.