Politicians being whisked away to resorts ahead of trust votes and party splits is nothing new, but the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) have taken it up a notch in Andhra Pradesh, flying out their corporators to Malaysia and Sri Lanka, respectively, before a vote on a no-confidence motion against Visakhapatnam Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari on April 19. The Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP currently runs the Greater Vizag Municipal Corporation (GVMC). Apart from Kumari, Deputy Mayors J Sridhar and K Satish also belong to the YSRCP, which has been on the backfoot since losing power in the state last year, with leaders big and small jumping ship to the TDP. Against this backdrop, TDP corporators in the GVMC submitted a no-confidence motion against Kumari on March 22. As the April 19 deadline for voting approaches, both camps have sent their corporators away to prevent poaching and cross-voting. The YSRCP has 59 of the 98 seats in the GVMC. The TDP has 29 corporators on its side, with three from ally JSP. The BJP, the CPI, and the CPI(M) have one each. After the TDP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power last June, about 25 YSRCP corporators joined them. The NDA now claims it has between 65 and 70 corporators on its side. It needs 74 votes to win the no-confidence motion. “When the TDP’s floor leader, P Srinivasa Rao, submitted the no-confidence motion against the mayor, it contained the signatures of 69 corporators. We have the support of about 70 corporators and are hoping to gain the support of more before the voting,’’ claimed JSP MLA Vamsi Krishna. TDP state president Palla Srinivasa Rao, who represents the Gajuwaka seat in Vizag city, confirmed that some party corporators have gone to Malaysia. “About 26 members have gone to various places in Kuala Lumpur with their families. Eleven corporators went today. We are confident of winning the no-confidence motion,” he said. A TDP source said the corporators “were asked to book rooms at available resorts with the assurance that their expenses would be borne by party leaders”. The YSRCP has 30-34 corporators on its side and is worried the TDP will “coerce them to vote in their favour”. To prevent cross-voting, YSRCP corporators were initially moved to a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru but were later shifted to Sri Lanka. “Some of them have taken the opportunity to take a break in Sri Lanka,’’ said a YSRCP leader. GVMC deputy mayor Jiyyani Sridhar told The Indian Express that he is currently at a resort in Kochi. “I am with seven other YSRCP leaders. About 30 members have gone to various places in Sri Lanka. I cannot disclose the locations. All YSRCP corporators will not vote on April 19. Some of us will return to Vizag only after the voting.” Gaining control of Visakhapatnam will be a big win for the TDP-led NDA alliance. In the 2024 elections, the NDA swept all seven seats in Visakhapatnam, while TDP leader M Sribharat won from the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency by 5.4 lakh votes.
