In a significant move, speaker of Andhra Pradesh assembly, Nadendla Manohar disqualified 15 MLAs, loyal to Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, this evening. Nine of the legislators are from the Congress party while the six others belonged to the Telugu Desam Party, who eventually switched their loyalties to the YSR Congress Party. The axe fell on the MLAs for defying the whip of their respective parties during the no-trust vote moved against the Kiran Kumar Reddy government a few months ago.

The disqualified legislators are Sujaya Ranga Rao, Aalla Nani, P Sairaj, Praveen Kumar Reddy, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Amarnath Reddy, Gottipati Ravi Kumar, Jogi Ramesh, D Chandrasekhara Reddy, M Rajesh, Balanagi Reddy, T Vanitha, Kodali Nani, Perni Nani and Siva Prasada Reddy. The speaker however did not take any decision on three other rebel MLAs who had earlier submitted their resignations.

The move marks the end of a prolonged silence of the speaker on the issue. The action was initiated on the basis of written complaints lodged by the Congress and the TDP against these legislators. Coming within two days of the next Assembly session, the speaker’s decision is however not expected to cause any political upheaval in the state. In fact, it comes part of a more calibrated approach which helps the Congress party government stay afloat despite the depleted numbers.

In a House with a current effective presence of 294 members, the Congress till now enjoyed a floor strength of 146, which was clearly two short of the magic figure. Now with the speaker disqualifying the 15 rebels, the benchmark comes down considerably to 139, thus virtually ruling out the prospect of a constitutional crisis. With the Assembly session round the corner, the speaker’s decision is only being seen as a preemptive move aimed at the safety of the government.