Andhra Pradesh state legislative council has now got two more vacancies, following the resignation of former deputy CM Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose and excise minister Mopidevi Venkataramana from their council membership on their election to Rajya Sabha.
The vacancies have given a new hope to some senior leaders of the ruling YSR Congress party who could not make it to the state assembly last year. They have already started lobbying for the party tickets for the MLC seats for which by-elections will be held later.
Seniors like former Chilakaluripet MLA Marri Rajasekhar, former Chirala MLA Amanchi Krishna Mohan, former MP from Amalapuram Pandula Ravindra Babu and former MLC Dadi Veerabhadra Rao are among the prominent leaders of the YSRC who are aspiring for the party ticket for the MLC seats.
However, it is not certain whether YSRC president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is keen on filling up these vacancies.
Though there are reports that Jagan might withdraw his party’s assembly resolution seeking abolition of legislative council, nobody exactly knows what is in his mind.
Aspiring party leaders say the fact that Jagan has fielded Dokka Manikya Vara Prasad for the by-election to the vacant MLC seat last week itself shows he may not abolish the council. But there are also reports that he is lobbying at the Centre for early abolition of the legislative council.
The latest report is that Jagan has asked the Narendra Modi government to abolish the legislative council through promulgation of an ordinance; and the centre has agreed for the same.
If this report is true, it will be a dampener for the aspirants for MLC seats in the state, sources said.