HYDERABAD: The speculation over possible merger of the BRS Legislature Party into the Congress is dying down fast.
After the Telangana High Court’s directive to the Speaker on MLAs disqualification petitions, the pink party legislators seem to be reluctant to take chances by changing their loyalties.
However, the ruling Congress is said to be exploring alternative strategies to weaken its rival.
According to party insiders, the leadership is looking for an opportunity to effect a ‘Shinde-like’ vertical split in the pink party, thus destabilising the Opposition.
Considering the current political situation in the state, the Congress seems to have realised that it may not be possible to convince two-thirds of MLAs of the BRS, required for its merger into the grand old party, to quit the pink party. However, sources said that they see the possibility of a majority of BRS MLAs defying its leadership.
Plan B to outsmart BRS
Additionally, the high court, taking a serious view of defections, directed the Speaker to hear out the disqualification petitions within four weeks. In view of this, the Congress is readying its plan B to outsmart the BRS.
In the last eight months since it formed the government, the Congress engineered defections of 10 MLAs with a view to merge the BRS Legislature Party. Although the party didn’t openly announce its plans of the merge of BRS Legislature Party into the Congress LP, senior Congress leaders repeatedly hinted at this publicly.
“Around 10 more BRS MLAs are ready to defy the leadership of KCR. If they come forward, the rebel BRS MLAs count would go to 20 out of total 38 MLAs. In such a scenario, the rebels would be in the majority and that faction may be recognised as the BRS party in the Assembly,” a senior Congress leader, who is privy to the developments within the party, said.
The leader also said that a Dalit MLA from the BRS would lead the rebel faction as the Leader of Opposition. There are already enough indications of this scenario emerging. Recently, Opposition BRS MLA Arikepudi Gandhi was appointed as PAC chairman. Though Gandhi has switched his loyalty to the Congress, the ruling party leaders relied on the technicality that he is still a BRS MLA.
Similarly, all the BRS turncoats would be still treated as BRS MLAs waiting for their numbers to swell to effect a split in the party. But it remains to be seen if the Congress succeeds in this high-voltage game of splitting the BRS.