The Congress believes the Telangana Rashtra Samithi will decide in favour of a merger as the decision on statehood has deprived the regional party of its chief electoral plank and an issue that defined its identity. Anita Katyal reports
The announcement of creation of a separate state of Telangana was welcomed with jubilant celebration on Tuesday.
With many of its plans to break the impasse over the Telangana issue coming unstuck, the Congress is now reportedly toying with the idea of moving a resolution on the statehood demand in the next session of Andhra Pradesh assembly.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
Even as JAC, comprising the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and other people's organisations met in Hyderabad to chalk out the future course of action, TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu lashed out at TRS holding it responsible for Thursday's attack on his senior party colleague N Janardhan Reddy.
The second day of the bandh call for Friday on the Telangana issue stands withdrawn in view of Christmas, a joint action committee of Telangana leaders has announced.
It would certainly help if in the first five or ten years the new state had a Telangana United Front government which included all political parties and which then would dedicate itself to bringing about fast development for the neglected region, says Gautam Pingle in the final part of a two-part series on the new state.
Given the politics behind it all, one possibility is for binding the governor to act according to the decisions of the state government and clarifying his position vis a vis bills and resolutions passed by the state assembly -- or, re-enacted if returned, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Statements of five 'Angadiya' firm operators have also been recorded by the ED to establish the "money trail" of this alleged Rs 45 crore bribe amount.
'The prime minister took a meeting recently and he asked for suggestions and ideas for a plan till 2047.'
It will now take at least two more years to get a clarity on the priorities and policies of the leadership of the new state of Telangana.
The thumping electoral victory the Congress had dreamt about is now a distant reality, says Vicky Nanjappa
While Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has made his national ambitions amply clear, even rechristening his party to aid the process, his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin insists he is already in the national scene and used his birthday rally on March 1 to not only strongly pitch for the Congress as a force to reckon with in the efforts to dislodge the Narendra Modi-led dispensation at the Centre, but also sought to shoot down the prospects of a Third Front.
TRS candidate Kavita tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the people of Nizamabad will reward their party as "they are the ones who fought for the state as a result of which it was achieved".
The five-state assembly elections are seen as a now-or-never, no-holds battle for the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
T Devender Goud, who quit the Telugu Desam party over the Telangana issue, has made it clear that his future political plans do not include any tie up with the Telangana Rahstra Samiti of K Chandrasekhara Rao or any other political party. Goud, the former No 2 of the TDP, told mediapersosn that he has convened a meeting of the intellectuals and the elders, who have been associated with the Telangana movement, on June 28.
Two Congress MPs from Telangana region dismissed reports that there was a proposal to pacify the agitation by offering political posts to the agitators and said there was "no compromise" on their commitment to a form a separate state.
Naidu, whose 150-day-long Mee Kosam Yatra entered the West Godavari district on Sunday night spoke to Rao for 15 minutes, well informed and reliable sources in the TDP said. Since Chandrasekhara Rao left the TDP in 2001 and launched the movement for Telangana and formed his own political party, it was first time that the two leaders spoke directly.
Close to half of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats are bracing for multi-cornered fight this time, making the contest way more interesting and intense than it was in the 2019 elections.
Lok Sabha on Tuesday looked like a virtual battle-ground during the consideration of the controversial Telangana Bill with Congress members seen protecting Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and other top leaders from protesting members.
The Bharatiya Janata Party supported the Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha onThursday but sought amendments to ensure the Seemandhra region got justice and a "defective" legislation was not passed.
'If we get 399 seats and you say we have not crossed 400, then it is your wisdom. But the '400 paar' slogan is based on calculation and considered opinion'
"The government has made a U-turn. There is no divide among political parties. My party is not divided and we are very clear that the state of Telangana should be formed," BJP spokesman Prakash Javedakar said.
Addressing a public meeting after unveiling a 125 ft-tall statue of B R Ambedkar here, KCR said the BRS party was getting a tremendous response from Maharashtra and was expecting a similar reaction from West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.
Dr Sangam Prithviraj, who leads the students at the Osmania University in Hyderabad, says that they were foolish to trust TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao and that now all students in all the 10 districts of Telangana will take the movement forward themselves.
On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Director N Shankar on directing the Telugu film which is closest to his heart.
There is nobody like Jaipal Reddy in Congress party. He is slotted to be the first Congress chief minister of Telangana if and when the Congress gets hold of the reins of power. Ten minutes after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill Reddy spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in the corridors of Parliament.
The counting of votes in Mizoram will take place on December 4, a day after it was originally scheduled, the Election Commission said on Friday.
Andhra Pradesh ministers from Telangana are staunchly opposing any "special package" for the region in lieu of a separate state.
The BRS, the AAP said that they are boycotting the address to protest against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
In a major set back to those opposing the state's bifurcation, the Andhra Pradesh high court has struck down a petition questioning the creation of Telangana.
The Congress on Saturday released its election manifesto for Telangana, promising socially-inclusive growth with focus on jobs and social justice and a three-pronged approach for building the new state.
KCR said despite 'bhaashanbaazi', industries are closing down, the nation's GDP is crashing and the rupee is falling drastically compared to the US dollar.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Although the Congress leadership and UPA has given its nod for Telangana, the road to the separate state is surely going to be a complicated one, reports Anita Katyal.
The Home Minister said creating a new state normally takes a period of eight to nine months but the central government would try its best to do it as early as possible.
The cumulative spends on Google are in excess of Rs 27.4 crore. There have been 14,837 advertisements on Google platforms.
As Andhra Pradesh heads for by-elections in 10 Assembly seats, a sort of mini- referendum, whether the people of Telangana region want a separate state or not- region's politics is all set for a major realignment of forces.
