New Delhi: As Telangana heads for early polls, Congress gears up to approach the court and Election Commission to get the assembly elections postponed till a revised voters' list is published.
Senior Congress leader M Shashidhar Reddy told Hindustan Times that if CM K Chandrashekar Rao — popularly known as KCR – dissolved the assembly, his party would request the Election Commission (EC) to delay the Telangana polls till January next year.
"We will request the EC not to club the Telangana polls with the elections to four states in December and delay them so that time is available for us to ensure voters’ lists are not doctored," he said, adding that if their requests are not met, they will take the "legal route" and move the court.
Legislative Assembly elections in Telangana are scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls next year. However, it is being speculated that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government may opt for early polls on the presumption that there is a positive mood among people on the government.
The HT report said that KCR could dissolve the assembly by mid-September and call fresh polls in November-December, along with state elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.
All eyes are now on the state cabinet meeting in Hyderabad as a decision on early polls could take place on Sunday afternoon. There is no official word it yet.
State IT and Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao had said on Friday that discussions had been held in the party on advancement of the assembly polls, but no decision has been taken so far.
The ruling TRS termed Reddy's comments as Congress's 'nervousness'. "They (Congress) are worried and not ready to face the people. So, what will happen if they go to court? If not November-December, elections will be held in January or February but within six months as per the SC order in an earlier matter," said Vinod Kumar Boianapalli, TRS leader. "In any case, assembly elections can’t be stretched beyond March," he added.
Rao, who addressed mediapersons more than a fortnight ago, did not give a direct reply on reports of early assembly election, but said the Election Commission has the discretion to conduct it within six months of the original schedule. He said various surveys by the party indicated that TRS would win about 100 seats (out of 119) in the assembly polls.
The speculation has also gained ground with transfers of officials, including IAS officers, during the last several days.
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