Hyderabad:
It is not just the Congress that has an unhappy situation on its hands in Andhra Pradesh. So does the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), with leader Chandrababu Naidu being pulled in opposite directions by his MLAs who want him to either support or oppose Telangana, depending on who is asking.
Fifty TDP MLAs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema want the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker to accept their resignations. They had resigned last week to protest against the proposed bifurcation of the state. The Speaker has asked for time to seek legal opinion since 80 Congress and 16 Praja Rajyam MLAs have also quit.
"We are prepared for polls because we want to express that we have given our resignations with genuine concern. Also the issue needs to be settled now, not later,'' said P Keshav, TDP MLA from Rayalaseema.
Though publicly the TDP claims it wants to force a snap poll, privately MLAs are an unhappy lot, because contesting elections again would mean spending a lot of money plus no guarantee that they will be voted back.
Chandrababu Naidu's credibility and authority has taken a beating with these resignations. He fought the 2009 elections promising statehood to Telangana. He even agreed to support a resolution on Telangana in the Assembly. He admitted: "For 28 years, TDP is a very disciplined party. Now it has been divided vertically. We are unable to find a solution."
The TDP is very visibly, a divided house, just like the Congress with MLAs from Telangana and those from coastal and Rayalseema, speaking in different voices. P Srinivas Reddy, TDP MLA from Telangana said: "Being a Telangana legislator, I support Telangana."
Asked how he felt when you colleagues from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema resigned, he said: "That is for the high command to sort out." Only sorting this out will not be as easy a task for Naidu as Reddy makes it sound.
Fifty TDP MLAs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema want the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker to accept their resignations. They had resigned last week to protest against the proposed bifurcation of the state. The Speaker has asked for time to seek legal opinion since 80 Congress and 16 Praja Rajyam MLAs have also quit.
"We are prepared for polls because we want to express that we have given our resignations with genuine concern. Also the issue needs to be settled now, not later,'' said P Keshav, TDP MLA from Rayalaseema.
Though publicly the TDP claims it wants to force a snap poll, privately MLAs are an unhappy lot, because contesting elections again would mean spending a lot of money plus no guarantee that they will be voted back.
Chandrababu Naidu's credibility and authority has taken a beating with these resignations. He fought the 2009 elections promising statehood to Telangana. He even agreed to support a resolution on Telangana in the Assembly. He admitted: "For 28 years, TDP is a very disciplined party. Now it has been divided vertically. We are unable to find a solution."
The TDP is very visibly, a divided house, just like the Congress with MLAs from Telangana and those from coastal and Rayalseema, speaking in different voices. P Srinivas Reddy, TDP MLA from Telangana said: "Being a Telangana legislator, I support Telangana."
Asked how he felt when you colleagues from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema resigned, he said: "That is for the high command to sort out." Only sorting this out will not be as easy a task for Naidu as Reddy makes it sound.
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