Telangana assembly dissolved, all eyes on EC now

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s government recommended the dissolution of the Telangana assembly on Thursday, taking a step towards holding early elections in the southern state after weeks of intense speculation.

Governor ESL Narasimhan accepted the resolution after a visit by Rao, who chaired the 15-minute Cabinet meeting that took the decision. The governor asked Rao and his council of ministers “to continue in office as a caretaker government,” said a Raj Bhavan press note.

Soon after, Rao announced candidates for

105 of the 119 constituencies in Telangana even as he faced criticism by the Opposition, which said the chief minister was trying to avoid simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assembly. Polling in Telangana is due in April-May 2019, 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. Addressing a packed press conference at the headquarters of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), he said, “There is a political fragility in the state now. The Opposition parties, especially the Congress, have been making serious allegations against me and my government without any basis and evidence.”

KCR, as Rao is called, said the Opposition was trying to “demoralise and discourage us from going ahead in the path of development... That is precisely why we have decided to dissolve the assembly and seek fresh mandate from the people so the wheels of progress can continue to roll...for another five years.”

He described the decision as a supreme sacrifice by the party and thanked his Cabinet colleagues and legislators for having faith in him. “Not a single MLA raised any objection to my decision. I salute them.”

Rao said his party had no plans of forming an alliance with the Centre’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party even though “we have been maintaining cordial relations with the NDA government.”

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