In what could come as a huge embarrassment for the Congress ahead of Lok Sabha Election 2019, the party is likely to lose its Opposition status in the Telangana Assembly as another party MLA switched sides to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Kothagudem MLA Vanama Rao joined the TRS on Sunday. He is the eighth of the total 19 Congress MLAs to cross over to the TRS this month so far.
As per the rules, Anti-Defection Law can not be applied if two-third MLAs of a party defect. They can be identified as an independent group.
Meanwhile, the Congress has accused TRS of trying to break the party. The Congress said it would meet the Governor to report the matter and also launch a campaign to expose the ruling TRS.
Congress Legislature Party leader M Bhatti Vikramarka accused CM K Chandrasekhar Rao of “conspiring to eliminate the Opposition”. Vikramarka said the TRS lacks courage to respond to their questions.
The TRS had won 88 seats in December 2018 Assembly polls, while the Congress was a distant second. The BJP could win just one seat.
(With inputs from agencies)