The Congress is likely to make the Telangana issue a part of its manifesto in the forthcoming elections, reports Vicky Nanjappa
The polling started at 7 am and would continue till 5 pm.
'KCR's plan for the future is three-pronged. He wants to see a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre in 2019 so that he can become the Union minister for home or defence,' says R Rajagopalan.
KCR is now having to resort to the lowest common denominator in elections: Reservations.
"We condemn this and resolve to continue and intensify our collective fight against the anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-Constitution policies of the Modi 'sarkar' that is destroying the social fabric of our society," they also said in the statement.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor E S L Narasimhan at a simple ceremony on the lawns of Raj Bhavan.
Most BJP-led NDA CMs will also be present when Kovind files his papers.
The 71-year-old Dalit leader is expected to have a smooth sailing in the event of an election.
At the stroke of midnight on Sunday night in Hyderabad, the song Jaya Jaya He Telangana will play as festivities would commence to welcome the 29th state of India.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Bharat Rashtra Party and Samajwadi Party, came together in a show of unity on Thursday and accused the Modi government of getting the second half of the budget session washed out, while asserting that if this attitude continues, the country will move towards a "dictatorship".
Andhra Pradesh government has sought inquiry by the central government into the alleged illegal tapping of phone of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
'Many veteran leaders in the Odisha BJP had met them, but their problems were never sorted out.'
Chandrababu remarked that the whole nation was watching how each party was behaving.
Though the run-up to the poll saw a high pitched campaign by the parties, the turnout of the voters on December 1 was an unimpressive 46.55 per cent (34.50 lakh) out of the total 74.67 lakh voters.
Telangana is facing a day-long bandh on Saturday called in protest against the passage in Lok Sabha of a Bill to transfer some villages of the newly-created state to Andhra Pradesh to aid the construction of the Polavaram project.
A bill to allow merging of some villages and mandals of Telangana with Seemandhra in a bid to deal with resettlement and rehabilitation those displaced by the Polavaram power project was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid din.
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh on Monday suffered a major blow in the urban civic body polls in the Seemandhra region, where opposition Telugu Desam Party put up a stellar performance, but stole the show in Telangana for whose statehood the party claims credit.
In a frontal attack, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi played opportunistic politics over the formation of Telangana state, and had joined hands with communal forces in the past.
The session will commence with the maiden address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The address essentially highlights the government's achievements and policy priorities.
The Group of Ministers that met in New Delhi has submitted the proposal to create a larger Telangana. This would mean that GoM is suggesting that the state be formed with 12 districts as opposed to 10, which was originally proposed.
Superintendent of Police Malla Reddy said Koneru Krishna, brother of TRS MLA Koneru Kannappa, has been arrested and booked under various sections of the IPC.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi President K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday sought to douse the controversy over his remarks that state government employees from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra working in Telangana should go back to their respective regions, saying no one need go anywhere.
The porposal is aimed at ensuring the safety of people of Seema-Andhra
Twenty two legislators belonging to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Bharatiya Janata Party along with two independent MLAs associated with them were on Monday suspended from the Andhra Pradesh assembly for two days for constantly disrupting proceedings of the House on the Telangana statehood issue.
After a spirited eight-hour debate in which 60 members participated, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, with 454 members voting in favour and two against it.
Both the BJP and the Congress have banked on new and young faces, some of whom have been nominated by the parties for the first time.
The construction of office-cum-residential buildings has been taken up in 104 assembly constituencies in the state except 15 segments in Hyderabad, it added.
Two TDP MLAs have lodged a complaint with anti corruption bureau alleging that the ruling TRS leaders pressurised them to quit the TDP to join their party.
The ruling alliance also has some smaller parties like Republican Party of India-Athawale, Asom Gana Parishad, Mizo National Front, National People's Party, Naga People's Front, Pattali Makkal Katchi and Bodoland People's Front, which have one seat each, totalling seven seats.
Rao had recently said a non-Congress and non-BJP front should be formed in the country
The NDA's combined parliamentary and state-level committed Presidential votes number around 12,000 fewer than a majority.
In a bid to break the logjam in Parliament over demonetisation, the government on Wednesday reached out to the opposition with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar holding talks with Congress and TMC leaders.
The move is being seen as an attempt to forge opposition unity to defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
'Are we so ready to believe that in this country whose virtues we constantly shout from the rooftops, there is no single person -- other than Modi -- in a minimum of 272 elected MPs with the talent and ability to lead this country?' asks Prem Panicker.
The Bharatiya Janata Party rejected this was any sort of demonetisation and instead reminded the Congress that even during the rule of Manmohan Singh, old currency notes were taken off circulation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Centre would soon form a committee which would adopt all possible ways for empowering Madigas (a SC community) with regard to their demand of categorisation of Scheduled Castes.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday cited Delhi's alleged 'liquor scam' to accuse Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of being under 'remote control' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dismissing speculation of Telangana throwing up a fractured verdict, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Friday asserted it would form government with a decisive majority without anybody's support on the back of "strong undercurrent and silent wave".
The total number of those who have quit the Congress and embraced parties like the YSR Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi stands at 75 today. To make matters worse, another wave of defections are expected to hit the party in the days to come.
The NDA, led by the BJP, has 5,37,683 votes includes the Shiv Sena, and the shortage is around 12,000 votes.
