Jagan seeks LoP post, saying ‘second-largest party… even if just 11 MLAs’, Speaker yet to respond

Following his party’s drubbing in the recent Assembly elections, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) seems to be in no mood to grant YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy the post of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly.

The first indication came on June 21, when newly elected MLAs were sworn in. “By convention, the Leader of the House is sworn in first, followed by the LoP, after which the ministers take oath. However, Jagan was called to take oath after the ministers. This shows he is not being considered for the LoP’s post,” YSRCP leader Ravi Reddy said.

On Tuesday, Jagan shot off a letter to the Speaker seeking the status of principal Opposition for the YSRCP and the LoP position for himself. The Speaker is yet to respond.

Jagan wrote that the YSRCP had secured 40% of the votes in the Assembly polls and it was his "duty" towards the people of the state to raise their concerns on the floor of the Assembly as an Opposition leader. Citing the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the AP Assembly notified under Article 208 of the Constitution, he also claimed that a party does not require a certain number of seats to qualify as the principal Opposition.

The YSRCP chief also said that his party was technically the second largest party in the Assembly, even if it had just 11 MLAs, as the other three parties in the House – TDP, JSP and BJP – are in alliance. “The YSRCP is the sole Opposition party in the Assembly and the Speaker should recognise it as such,” he said.

The former CM also claimed the NDA as well as the Speaker were openly hostile towards him and this forced him to wonder if his party’s participation in the proceedings of the House would be of any value.

TDP spokesperson K Pattabhi Ram said the LoP demand was just Jagan making excuses to give the Assembly proceedings a miss. “In 2019, when the TDP won 23 seats, he had said in the Assembly that if five-six MLAs were removed from the TDP, the party could not get the status of principal Opposition as well as the LoP post. He knows about the precedents set by previous Speakers. What can the Speaker do if the YSRCP has only 11 seats? Jagan has no interest in taking up people’s issues in the House."

The TDP in alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP) and BJP won 164 seats in the 175-member House, reducing the YSRCP to 11 seats. The JSP too finished ahead of the YSRCP with 21 MLAs.

Section 12-B of the Andhra Pradesh Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualification Act, 1953, states: “Provided that where there are two or more parties in opposition to the Government, in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly or in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council having the same numerical strength, the Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly or the Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council as the case may be shall having regard to the status of the parties, recognize any one of the Leader of such parties as Leader of the Opposition for the purpose of the section and such recognition shall be final and conclusive."

Sources in the TDP said that the YSRCP, however, was yet to submit a letter to Pro-tem Speaker G Butchaiah Chowdary stating that Jagan had been elected as the leader of the YSRCP Legislature Party, and hence should be designated LoP.

An YSRCP insider admitted: “In his meetings with party MLAs and MLCs, there was no resolution passed to formally elect Jagan as the leader. Hence, he was sworn in as an ordinary MLA."

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