Hyderabad:
Two lawmakers from the opposition Telugu Desam Party in Telangana have crossed over to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
TDP legislature party leader Errabelli Dayakar and another leader Prakash Goud, joined the TRS today, taking the number of legislators who quit to nine. The TDP has 15 legislators in the 119-member assembly.
Mr Dayakar has appealed to all TDP men to join TRS, saying the party won't survive in Telangana.
The most important of the TDP legislators who have crossed over so far is Srinivas Yadav from Hyderabad's Sanath Nagar, who was made a minister, Teegala Krishna Reddy, and Secunderabad lawmaker Sayanna.
Besides, four of Congress's 21 lawmakers, two from legislators from YSR Congress, and three from BSP have also joined TRS.
Since the division of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the TRS has dominated the state politics. In December, TRS bagged 4 seats in the Legislative Council Elections.
Last week, the TRS swept the civic polls in Hyderabad, virtually wiping out the Telugu Desam Party-BJP alliance and the Congress. The Chief Ministers of both states fought hard to win the battle for Hyderabad, which will remain the shared capital till 2024.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's TDP won just 1 seat. The BJP won 4 seats. The TRS which didn't contest the 2009 polls, won 99 seats.