After the worst ever performance by the Congress party since its inception, the party is now trying to acquire the status of the main opposition party in the Lok Sabha.
The party has managed to win only 44 seats across the country while the main opposition party needs to win at least 10 per cent of the 545 seats.
Given the present scenario, technically, the Modi-led BJP government will rule without any opposition. Already, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan has formalized a decision to not have an opposition leader.
However, the grand old party of Indian politics is trying its best to mobilize support from regional parties to fill the remaining seats to be rendered the status of prime opposition party as the absence of an opposition party will not bode well for Indian politics.
Given this scenario, it has emerged that the some senior Congress leaders have put pressure on YSRCP leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to merge his party with the Congress.
The Congress presently needs about 9 to 10 MLAs to become the main opposition party in Lok Sabha. News in political circles is that Jagan has put his foot down and refused to bow down to pressure.
It is being said that the Congress High Command put forth some suggestions to Jagan for a smooth merger. However, Jagan is said to have insisted on Congress issuing a public statement saying that the disproportionate assets cases against him were baseless. But the Congress senior leaders trying to mediate the deal could only promise support in tackling the cases. So, the offer was promptly turned down by Jagan.
Right now, YSRCP is the single largest opposition party in Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand, Congress hasn’t won even one assembly seat. Also, BJP is in power in the Centre with absolute majority. It is being widely felt that it would be foolish if Jagan merges with Congress at this juncture.
