Congress may seek postponement of assembly polls post division

HYDERABAD: Waking up to the reality that it has become politically irrelavant in the Seemandhra region following its decision to divide the state, the Congress high command is toying with the idea of seeking postponement of assembly elections in both Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh by six to nine months once the bifurcation process is completed.
Such a move would help in the revival of the Congress in the Seemandhra region, seems to be the thinking of the party. Such a proposal came up when PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana and former minister DL Ravindra Reddy, who camped in Delhi for the past two days, held discussions with AICC leaders Digvijay Singh, Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad. "Once bifurcation takes place, the successor states would need at least six months time to hold elections. All aspects are being studied by the party. Postponing the elections after the division can't be ruled out. Election commission officials also told me that they need sufficient time to complete the delimitation of SC and ST constituencies in the two states," Ravindra Reddy told TOI.
On Tuesday, Botsa and Ravindra Reddy held a meeting with ministers Anam Ramanarayan Reddy, K Pathasarathi, M Maheedhar Reddy and Nellore MLA Sridhar Krishna Reddy.
"The division of the state is imminent and the two states will come into existence three months after the passage of the Telangana Bill in Parliament in February.
The election commission would need six months to complete the delimitation process. So, the new governments will continue in Telangana and Andhra for over six to nine months," is what Botsa and Ravindra Reddy reportedly told their colleagues.
The proposal to put off the assembly polls by at least 6 to 9 months is being considered in the wake of reports from the party leaders from the region and internal surveys which are pointing to a rout for the Congress in Seemandhra in view of its decision to bifurcate the state as well as the strong presence of the YSR Congress and TDP who have positioned themselves as parties championing the united state cause. "Therefore, postponing the assembly polls by at least 6 to 9 months is in the interest of the Congress," the sources said. The move to postpone the state polls is likely to be inserted as a clause in the Telangana bill, they added.