LoP status | Is Jagan’s reason to boycott AP Assembly acceptable?

The Andhra Pradesh budget for 2024-25 was tabled in the Assembly with empty Opposition benches on Monday (November 11).

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which won just 11 seats in the House of 175, decided to boycott the Assembly, demanding Leader of Opposition Status (LoP) to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the party supremo.

As there has been no response from the Speaker, Jagan moved the AP High Court seeking direction to the Speaker to accord him LoP status.

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LoP status based on vote share

Per convention, YSRCP is not eligible for the recognition as the main Opposition party, as its strength fell short of the required 10 per cent strength of the Assembly seats. Jagan wants the LoP status based not on the seats won but on the vote share of the party.

“YSR Congress has bagged 40 per cent of the votes polled in the Assembly elections held in May 2024. And there is no other party in the House. So, the Opposition Party status goes to YSRCP naturally. This status makes it mandatory for the Speaker to assign more time to talk about TDP’s misrule,” Jagan said on Wednesday (November 13), defending his demand.

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In his view, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s longish speeches should not go unquestioned.

“Chandrababu Naidu speaks for 40 minutes to spread lies about the government as achievements. I also need more time to expose the fallacy of his statements. Unless I get LoP status, I won’t get enough time to speak on the floor of the House,” he said.

Is boycott justified?

Is Jagan justified in boycotting the Assembly on this premise?

Advocate C Nagendranath said the demand for LoP status cannot justify boycotting the House.

“Jagan is elected to represent the people of the Pulivendula constituency in the Assembly. One need not be the LoP in the House to expose the government. By boycotting the Assembly, he is also denying his colleagues' constitutional obligation to represent their constituencies,” he said.

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“If he doesn’t want to attend the House, the Election Commission should step in and strip him of his membership so that people of his constituency would elect a new MLA,” added Nagendranath.

10-year trend

Boycotting the House has become a trend in Andhra Pradesh since 2014, when Telangana was bifurcated from the state.

Earlier, leaders never bemoaned the lack of LoP status. In 1994, in the combined state, Congress won just 26 seats while the NTR-led TDP bagged 251 seats. Congress leader P Janardhan Reddy functioned as CLP (Congress legislative party) leader without LoP status. 

“It is not the LoP status, but your capacity to draw the attention of the House that matters,” said N Tulasi Reddy, former MP and State Congress senior vice-president.

“In fact, it was the best of Janardhan Reddy’s times as an MLA. He fought the colossus NTR and later Chandrababu Naidu so effectively that the party won 91 seats in the 1999 election. Janardhan Reddy successfully fought against Karnataka's attempt to raise the Almatti Dam height, both in and out of the House. The boycott call by Jagan is an assault on the Constitution of India,” he said.

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Both Nagendranath and Tulasi Reddy recalled how Communist leader M Omkar, BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu, and Janata Party leader Jaipal Reddy left their imprint in the Assembly by oratorical skills without demanding any special treatment.

“They fought and convinced the speakers to allot more time. They never resorted to boycotting the House,” they said.

Caste dominates post-bifurcation politics

Post bifurcation, Telugu politics took a bitter turn. Caste started to dominate the governments and the parties.

In Andhra Pradesh, politics have become a rivalry between the Reddys and Kammas. One can easily find the colour of the government by the way the chief minister fills the key posts with members of his caste.

This bitter rivalry between two major parties, TDP and YSRCP, led to unprecedented chaos in the House. Opposition leaders and members are never allowed to speak in the Assembly. How to liquidate the other party has become the prime activity for the chief ministers.

After winning the election in 2014, Chandrababu Naidu opened the doors for YSRCP MLAs and admitted 23 of them. Jagan’s strength in the house fell to 44 from 67. He filed for disqualification of the defected MLAs under the Anti-defection Law. As the Speaker did not act, he vowed to boycott the House and return only as the chief minister.

Trend of opposition not allowed to speak in House

He achieved his objective by winning the 2019 election with a record majority (151/175) and made life hell for Chandrababu Naidu.

Many TDP MLAs migrated to YSRCP. The ruling party paid back in the same coin and never allowed Naidu to speak in the Assembly.

Anarchy would always break loose when Naidu rose to speak. Abuses were traded freely. In the process, an uncharitable remark was hurled at Naidu’s wife, Nara Bhuvaneswari. This forced Naidu to take a pledge to boycott the Assembly for the remaining period.

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Addressing a press conference on November 21, 2021, Naidu, in tears, announced that he would return to the House only as the chief minister. That did not put an end to his predicament. He was arrested in a case and was lodged in jail for 52 days.

History repeats itself

History quite often repeats itself in Andhra Pradesh, always in a bitter drama. Now Naidu has romped back to power as part of the NDA in the 2024 election with an absolute majority leaving just 11 seats for Jagan. With this humiliating rejection, Jagan might have visualised what is in store for him in the Assembly if he entered the House with his insignificant number.

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“Anything can happen in the House given the history of violent scenes that unfolded in the last ten years,” said political commentator Chalasani Narendra.

“None of the current leaders are products of long political struggle. One cannot expect parliamentary decorum from these parties. They want to survive by liquidating the other party. This type of bloodthirsty politics was not there before 2014 in Andhra Pradesh,” said Narendra.

Sharmila’s advice to Jagan

Jagan's sister and APCC president YS Sharmila also disapproved of her brother’s attitude towards the Assembly.

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“You cannot boycott the Assembly for any reason. It goes against the people’s mandate. Attend the House or quit. So that others who are willing to serve the people will get the chance in the by-election,” she advised Jagan.