Voting for the election of seven MLC seats of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council under MLA quota commenced on Thursday.The election started at 9 am at the Legislative Assembly in Velagapudi.Voting began with Chief Minister Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy exercising his franchise first, said an official.
But the results of Graduate and Local authorities MLC elections have given nightmares for the ruling YSR Congress party.
Losing three MLC seats, the YCP is now worried that it might lose one more MLC seat.Sensing this, the YCP has made special arrangements for its MLAs and provided them accommodation at a private star hotels in Vijayawada.
Despite keeping an eagle watch on its MLAs, the YCP received rude shock from four MLAs who reportedly walked out of the hotel and later switched off their mobiles.TDP rebels Maddala Giri, Vasupalli Ganesh left their hotel rooms on Wednesday midnight and what’s shocking is that MLAs Thadikonda Sridevi and Vasantha Venkata Krishna Prasad who won on YCP’s B-form also left the hotel and now they are not reachable even not phone.
The YCP leaders who took the responsibility of voting with those four are in a panic state.The political buzz is that the four MLAs are in touch with TDP and going by the buzz, even if the four MLAs do not cast their votes, the equations would drastically change and eventually benefit the Telugu Desam and there are high chances that the seventh MLC seat can be bagged by the main opposition.
The YCP had arranged one minister to every 20 to 21 MLAs and ensured that the respective MLAs vote for YCP candidates strictly.All the MLAs were brought to Vijayawada two days before and kept in hotels.
However, some MLAs are said to have gone missing suddenly in the midnight and the YCP camp fell in confusion with missing MLAs.
Out of 175 eligible MLA voters, Seven YSR Congress Party candidates have filed nominations for equal number of MLC seats, which will fall vacant in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council by the end of March.
Pothula Sunita, Jayamangala Venkataramana, Marri Rajasekhar, C.H.Yesuratnam, Bommi Israel, Kola Guruvulu and Penmetsa Varaha Venkata Suryanarayana Raju are the seven candidates from the ruling party.
Members whose term will expire on March 29 include Nara Lokesh, Pothula Sunitha, Bucchula Arjunudu, Dokka Manikya Varaprasad, and Gangula Prabakar Reddy, while Challa Bagheedhar Reddy’s term lapsed on November 2, 2022.
