Chandrababu Naidu's Section 8 ploy working?

If AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been trying to divert the attention of the people from the note-for-vote case involving Telangana TDP MLA Revanth Reddy and others, it seems to have succeeded to some extent.

For those who came in late, with the TDP's identity in Telangana steadily declining with party legislators jumping the fence and joining the TRS, a desperate Chandrababu Naidu tried to rejuvenate the party by ensuring a victory for the TDP nominee in the Telangana MLC elections.

Since TRS president and Telangana CM Chandrasekhar Rao was hell-bent on humiliating his bete noir Naidu by defeating the TDP nominee, the TDP supremo tried to win the MLC seat at any cost, including wooing the MLA electorates with mammon. However, his plan boomeranged with Revanth Reddy getting caught "red-handed" while trying to offer money to nominated Anglo Indian MLA Elvis Stephenson to vote for the TDP nominee.

The scandal undoubtedly tarnished the image of Naidu. In a face-saving attempt, he alleged phone-tapping of his party leaders and ministers, and used that to emphasize the need for invoking Section 8 of the A P Reorganization Act that gives jurisdiction over law and order in Hyderabad to the Telangana Governor, by proclaiming that there was threat to the party leaders and Andhra settlers in Hyderabad. He even went to New Delhi and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

He also ensured that his cabinet ministers and party leaders went all-out in their clamour for bringing the law and order in Hyderabad under the control of the Governor.

This issue has indeed suddenly taken centrestage by pushing the note-for-vote scandal to the sidelines.

The focus is now more on how far the Governor would go in the wake of the advice purportedly given by Attorney-General of India Mukul Rohatgi that he can invoke Section 8 for taking over the law and order in Hyderabad, the joint capital of the two states.

Suddenly the political atmosphere in Hyderabad as well as in New Delhi is rife with debates and discussions involving leaders belonging to various parties on whether the Governor could invoke Section 8 or not, and whether such a move is warranted in Hyderabad where the law and order situation has been satisfactory and well under control.

Even the media, both print and electronic, is highly voluble over the topic, and various entities are vying with each other in giving exclusive stories and airing breaking news.

Though Naidu thus seems to have succeeded in sidetracking the note-for-vote case for now, it is to be seen how far he will be able to stretch his luck. (NSS)