Ministers’ opposition forces Rao to drop idea of early polls
Telangana CM says state assembly polls to be held as per original schedule in April-May next year
With a majority of ministers opposing his idea of early polls to the state assembly Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao appears to have backed down on his plans.
At the marathon cabinet meeting, many ministers openly disagreed with KCR’s idea for “sentimental reasons”. They pointed out that all such attempts in the past had led to the debacle of the ruling party. They gave the example of Atal Bihari Vajpayee government at the Centre and Chandrababu Naidu regime in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2004 when they had advanced the elections and lost power.
According to sources, the Chief Minister assured the ministers that he had never talked of early polls and had only said that if the Election Commission advances elections by six months they cannot be called early elections as the EC had the power to do so.
He told the ministers that state assembly will be held as per original schedule in AprilMay next year when the term of the state assembly comes to the end.
Speculation of KCR opting for early elections had gone viral after he announced at a
At the cabinet meeting, ministers openly disagreed with KCR’s idea for “sentimental reasons”. They pointed out such attempts in the past had led to the debacle of the ruling party.
press conference that the list of TRS candidates will be announced in September itself. He had also dropped several hints of the possibility when he asked his party men to be ready for polls anytime after September.
Flip-flop
From KCR’s flip-flop it was obvious that he was confused on the question of whether simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and the state assembly will be good for his party’s prospects of returning to power. He was apprehensive that in a simultaneous election the growing anti-Modi sentiments may work against the TRS as happened in 2004 when the BJP at the Centre and TDP in the state were defeated. But on the other hand KCR was also hopeful that early elections could be helpful as there was a positive atmosphere in the state at present. Following the good monsoon all the reservoirs were brimming with water and hopes of a bumper crop were bright. Secondly, Mission Bhagiratha to provide drinking water to all the households in the state will be commissioned in October coinciding with Dussehra and thirdly the distribution of Rs4000 (Dh210) per acre incentive under second phase of Rythu Bandhu scheme will also be done in November.