A one-upmanship game

The main political players in AP – Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Opposition leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy – are now locked in an interesting political game – who is the champion of the interests of the state, particularly when it comes to Special Category Status (SCS).

As it is an election year, the focus understandably shifts to proving who has more commitment for SCS rather than getting the SCS, per se, for the people. For now, the game-plan is on moving a no-confidence motion against the NDA government in the Lok Sabha, in protest against the Centre backing out on granting SCS. After breaking the umbilical cord with the NDA on Friday, Chandrababu Naidu directed his MPs to give a notice for a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.

YSCRC, issued a similar notice on Thursday itself, claiming that it went to this extent because of its commitment to SCS. The YSRCP claimed that since it had given notice for no-trust motion, Chandrababu Naidu also fell in line and had his MPs give a similar notice, after changing his mind to support the YSRC’s motion.

For this change of plan, the Telugu Desam Party said it did not want to become a party to YSRC’s motion as its intentions were different. TDP said the YSRC was not serious about the motion and it was only to create an illusion that it was serious about it.

This apart, by not seeking support from the Congress and other non-NDA parties, the YSRC’s cover slipped on its seriousness in moving the motion in the House. Chandrababu Naidu has described the YSRC’s notice for no-trust motion as one which has been decided after obtaining consent from the BJP.

The YSRC has hit back at Naidu saying that immediately after coming out of the NDA, the TDP took the decision to move a no-confidence motion, worried that it was lagging behind in the fight for SCS.

Finally, the Speaker did not take up either of the notices for admitting them for taking up no-trust motion as the House was not in order and adjourned it to Monday. Both the parties are planning to issue notices once again on Monday.

Since beginning, Naidu was not gung-ho about the no-trust move as he knew it would not serve any purpose but has been forced to give notice for it, as he does want to appear that he was hesitant to attack or cause discomfiture to the BJP.

This gambit is only a small part of a bigger game being played out for gaining the support of the people in the next elections. With patterns changing rapidly in the political kaleidoscope, Naidu is now trying to prove that YSRC was working in cahoots with the BJP behind the scenes and that both of them had brought Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan to the fore to do the fighting with Naidu on their behalf.

Interestingly, in his anxiety to emerge hero, Jagan Mohan Reddy slipped up in doing homework to take the Opposition parties on board while planning the no-trust move. The TDP alleged that YSRC did not consult the Congress and other parties which only showed how serious the YSRC is about the motion. After the TDP made the accusation, the YSRC leaders went about enlisting the support of other parties.

The TDP on the other hand was careful in consulting the other parties including SP, NCP, RJD and MIM. APCC President N Raghuveera Reddy said the Congress and all its 20 allies would support the no- confidence motion, while not forgetting to stress that it was the Congress prime minister who had promised the SCS to the state and therefore it was the Congress which should stay in the forefront, giving an impression that it too is concerned about appearing like a fighter.