If one were to go by the reports from New Delhi, there is no possibility of increase in the number of Assembly seats in the Telugu states – Telangana and Andhra Pradesh – at least for now.
With just one week left for the Parliament session to come to a close, it is unlikely that the Centre would bring in the bill to amend the AP Reorganisation Act now, to enable increase in the number of Assembly seats in Telangana from 119 to 153 and in Andhra Pradesh from 175 to 225.
The draft bill is still doing rounds in the law department and sources said there were several legal hitches in enacting the law. Union legislative affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu has made all efforts to get clearance to the draft bill, but in vain.
Sources said it might not be possible to increase the number of assembly seats in both the States till 2026. More than anybody else, it is going to cause a lot of trouble to AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Naidu has been allowing defections from YSR Congress party in a big way and promising to field them in their respective constituencies or the new constituencies that are likely to be created due to increase in number of Assembly seats.
The local TDP leaders and defeated MLAs, too, are not raising any objection, as sufficient number of additional seats are going to be created and they will get chance to contest.
But with the latest development at the Centre, there will be definitely unrest in the party as there will be tough competition between the sitting MLAs and local TDP leaders. At least now, the defections from YSR Congress party to the TDP will come to a halt!
