The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Two TD MPs defy party leadership

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Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Two TD MPs defy party leadership

Special Correspondent

One votes in favour of UPA, another casts an invalid vote

Naidu sought to be a king-maker but failed to keep his flock together
Anti-Congress alliance depends on outcome of breakfast meet

Celebration time: Congress activists celebrating the UPA Government’s victory in the trust vote, at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam Party suffered a major embarrassment on Tuesday when two senior MPs defied the leadership by not voting against the motion of confidence in Parliament tabled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Lok Sabha member from Nagarkurnool (SC) constituency Manda Jagannadham voted in favour of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government while the vote of Chittoor MP D. K. Adikesavulu Naidu was declared invalid on technical grounds.

Taken aback by their defiance, the TDP is planning to expel both of them, party sources said.

Surprise package

Congress MP from Rajahmundry V. Arun Kumar told The Hindu that their turnaround had come as “a complete surprise” for the ruling alliance too.

The reasons for Mr. Jagannadham’s switching loyalties remain a mystery as he is a leader of Madiga sub-caste of the SCs whom the TDP has been wooing assiduously.

In contrast, Mr. Adikesavulu Naidu, who hails from the Kapu community, is said to have been toying with the idea of joining Chiranjeevi’s party as his Chittoor Lok Sabha seat has been reserved for SCs in the delimitation exercise. A former Congressman who served as PCC treasurer in the late 1990s, Mr. Naidu joined the TDP following differences with former Union Minister Chinta Mohan.

This unexpected development is a jolt for TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, who was seeking a key political role for himself on the national political stage but ended up failing to keep his own flock together.

The two MPs have joined the long list of senior leaders who have quit and hitched their bandwagon to Chiranjeevi’s party.

“They have indeed spoiled the good atmosphere created by forging political understandings with Mayawati’s BSP and the Left. These friendships mattered more for us than the victory or defeat of the UPA Government,” a senior TDP leader added.

Back to basics

Now, the TDP and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have to re-work their political strategies as their hopes of a collapse of the UPA Government and a major shift in national politics have been dashed. Their hectic confabulations with the various parties had triggered speculation of a grand anti-Congress alliance in the State between the TDP, BSP, the Left and the TRS. Whether this will still materialise will depend on their discussions at the breakfast meet being hosted by Ms. Mayawati in New Delhi on Wednesday.

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