Defected MLAs are a worried lot

As the Centre is not reportedly inclined to increase the number of Assembly segments, the legislators are sceptical of getting TRS ticket in the next general elections

Hyderabad: The MLAs of Congress and Telugu Desam Party, who joined the ruling TRS, are agitated as the Centre is not reportedly inclined to raise the number of Assembly Constituencies by the time the next general elections are held.

Most of these MLAs have begun to worry whether they would get TRS ticket to contest in the next Assembly elections. As many as 19 MLAs have defected to the ruling party during the past three years. About 12 legislators of Telugu Desam party and seven of Congress have joined the ruling party.

The defected MLAs hoped that the number of Assembly constituencies would go up and there was no difficulty for them to get the TRS ticket. But their expectations seem to have been belied. They built their hopes upon increase in number of Assembly constituencies as the clause was incorporated in the AP Reorganisation Act.

During the bifurcation of the united Andhra Pradesh, the Centre, promised that the number of Assembly seats would be increased nearly by 30 per cent. It was expected that the number constituencies would go up from the existing 119 to 153.

The number of Assembly constituencies would go up only if delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies was taken up. Each Lok Sabha constituency comprise seven Assembly segments.

Telangana State has 17 Lok Sabha constituencies. Therefore, the State has only 119 Assembly constituencies only. If the number of Assembly segments that make up each Lok Sabha constituency is increased from seven to nine, then the number of Assembly constituencies will go up to 153, according to officials.