File photo of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy
Hyderabad/New Delhi:
Nine days after Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned from the Andhra Pradesh chief minister's post in protest against the creation of Telangana, the Union Cabinet recommended the imposition of President's Rule in the state. The assembly will be placed under suspended animation.
The Centre's recommendation, which will be passed on to President Pranab Mukherjee, is expected to end the atmosphere of uncertainty that had gripped the state after Mr Reddy's resignation. The chief minister had stepped down from his post, as well as the Congress party, on February 19 after failing in his effort to block the passage of the bill creating India's 29th state after splitting Andhra Pradesh.
Elections to the state assembly are likely to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls, due by May. With the Centre deciding to back President's rule in Andhra Pradesh, hopes nursed by a section of Congress to lead an alternative government have been dashed to the ground.
It is now almost certain that elections to the Lok Sabha and the assembly will be held under undivided Andhra Pradesh. The Centre has cited practical difficulties in dividing the state before the next round of polls. Union minister Jairam Ramesh, who played a crucial role in getting the Telangana bill passed in Parliament during the concluding session, has argued that the actual bifurcation can take place only after three months of Presidential assent and gazette notification.
The Centre's plans are expected to drive K Chandrasekhar Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samiti, or the TRS, further away from the Congress. The TRS, which spearheaded the campaign for a separate Telangana state, reportedly wants the Congress top brass to name Mr Rao as the first chief minister of the new state. It also wants elections to be held after bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
The Centre's recommendation, which will be passed on to President Pranab Mukherjee, is expected to end the atmosphere of uncertainty that had gripped the state after Mr Reddy's resignation. The chief minister had stepped down from his post, as well as the Congress party, on February 19 after failing in his effort to block the passage of the bill creating India's 29th state after splitting Andhra Pradesh.
Elections to the state assembly are likely to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls, due by May. With the Centre deciding to back President's rule in Andhra Pradesh, hopes nursed by a section of Congress to lead an alternative government have been dashed to the ground.
It is now almost certain that elections to the Lok Sabha and the assembly will be held under undivided Andhra Pradesh. The Centre has cited practical difficulties in dividing the state before the next round of polls. Union minister Jairam Ramesh, who played a crucial role in getting the Telangana bill passed in Parliament during the concluding session, has argued that the actual bifurcation can take place only after three months of Presidential assent and gazette notification.
The Centre's plans are expected to drive K Chandrasekhar Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samiti, or the TRS, further away from the Congress. The TRS, which spearheaded the campaign for a separate Telangana state, reportedly wants the Congress top brass to name Mr Rao as the first chief minister of the new state. It also wants elections to be held after bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
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