Telangana House dissolved, stage set for early polls

HYDERABAD: Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao dissolved the Telangana assembly on Thursday, taking a step towards holding early elections in the southern state in a move analysts say may have been prompted by a desire to fight a possible Congress-telugu Desam Party alliance in the state on his own terms (and timing), even as speculation grew about his growing closeness to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Governor ESL Narasimhan accepted the resolution after a visit by Rao, who chaired the 15-minute Cabinet meeting that took the decision. Polling in Telangana is due in April-may, when the country will vote in the general elections. The final decision on whether to hold an early election in the state now rests with the Election Commission.

The poll panel will meet on Friday to take a call on whether voting in Telangana can be clubbed with the upcoming elections in four other states later this year. An official aware of the developments said that the commission will arrive at a decision after receiving a detailed report from the chief electoral officer of

the state on various aspects of poll preparedness.

The TRS had 90 of the 119 seats in the state assembly. The state sends 17 members to the Lok Sabha.

The governor asked Rao and his council of ministers “to continue in office as a caretaker government,” said a press note from the Raj Bhavan.

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