The MIM, a party friendly to the TRS, has become the principal opposition party in the state Assembly, with just seven MLAs.
The defection of 12 Congress MLAs has precipitated this situation. The Congress now has only six MLAs.
Sources in the TRS said that the Assembly Speaker may recognise the MIM as the principal opposition party in the Assembly. The Speaker will recognise the Congress as a
group. This has happened once before when under the leadership of the late P. Janardhan Reddy, the Congress was recognised as a group as it failed to get opposition status.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has announced several times that the MIM is a friendly party. But with the MIM becoming the opposition party in the Assembly, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.