TRS MLAs not game for Speaker’s post

​Hyderabad: At a time when discussions are underway for the ministerial posts in the new government, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders especially the seniors are anxious over the Speaker’s post. The anxiousness over the post is due to the jinx the post that the candidate who holds the post is defeated in the immediate next election.

The TRS leaders are a worried lot because the earlier leaders who held the post lost the next elections and this sentiment is still continuing even after two decades. The latest victim of this jinx was S Madhusudhana Chary, who was defeated from Bhupalpally Assembly constituency. Congress candidate G Venkata Ramana Reddy had won securing 69,918 votes and Madhusudhana Chary was third with 53,567 votes.

Madhusudhana Chary was not the only one who lost elections after becoming the Speaker. There were several others who have lost the election and some of them have never won the election there after. This strong sentiment is continuing even after two decades and making the MLAs worry about their future.

The Speaker is the major post in the Assembly, every MLA including the Chief Minister must respect the person sitting on the chair of the Speaker. However, the TRS leaders are not keen to take the post. Some of them whose names were doing rounds are making efforts to convey that they are not interested in the post and would continue to be as MLA in the Assembly.

It all started with D Sripada Rao, who was speaker in 1991 but he was defeated in the immediate elections in 1995. He was succeeded by Y Ramakrishnudu (TDP) during 1995 to 1999. Ramakrishnudu too had to face defeat in the immediate elections in 1999. Later, Pratibha Bharati was the speaker during 1999 to 2004 and she too lost in the next elections.  During the ten-year rule of Congress there were three speakers and all the three lost next elections. 

K R Suresh Reddy was the speaker during 2004 to 2009 and he lost the elections after his term as speaker. During the term 2009 and 2013 the speaker’s post was held by two leaders including N Kiran Kumar Reddy (June 2009 to November 2010), who later became Chief Minister of un-divided Andhra Pradesh after the death of the then Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. N Manohar was the next to get the speaker’s post during June 2011 to June 2014. However, Manohar too lost the immediate elections in 2014. Madhusudhana Chary who was the first speaker of Telangana Assembly also became a victim of the jinx. 

A senior leader said that generally the Speakers get disconnected with people as he would have to concentrate on the legislative matters. “Chary used to meet people during his free time and once he called his constituency leaders to show the city and also Assembly, spent nights in villages and was available almost all the time when he was not in the city,” said a TRS leader who was close to the former speaker.

According to TRS sources, the party leaders are ready to forego minister's post but they do not want Speaker's post. The Chief Minister during a meeting of the State executive indicated that senior and most loyal party leader would be given the post of the Speaker. Sources said that when the name of a senior leader from Karimnagar was doing rounds, the leader came down to Hyderabad and pleaded with K T Rama Rao not to consider his name. Similarly, when another senior leader’s name from Warangal was discussed, the leader said he would be happy to have the MLA’s post, said sources. 

Senior MLAs from Medak and Nizamabad are said to have told the party leaders that not to consider their names for speaker, added sources. However, the party leaders said that the decision lies with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and the disciplined party leaders would have to accept it.