Hyderabad: Clarity on delimitation in both states after bifurcation and holding the Assembly elections will set in only after the Telangana Bill is approved in the Parliament.
When the Union government introduces the Telangana Bill in the Parliament, it has to give clear instructions about the delimitation of constituencies in both states after Andhra Pradesh is divided.
As regards holding Assembly elections, there are three options available. The first option is to keep the delimitation process pending and conduct the Assembly elections with the existing Assembly constituencies, along with the Lok Sabha elections. The delimitation will be completed by the next (2019) general elections.
The second option is to make adjustments in SC and ST reservations in both the states, without increasing the number of Assembly seats in both. If the central government wants to follow this option, the Assembly elections will be held along with Lok Sabha polls in April 2014.
After the state is divided, Telangana will have 119 and the residual state of Andhra Pradesh will have 175 Assembly constituencies. In Telangana, out of the 119 Assembly constituencies, 19 are reserved for SC and 12 are for ST Assembly constituencies.
In Seemandhra, out of 175 Assembly constituencies, 29 are reserved for SC and seven for ST Assembly constituencies. According to the population, there should be 18 SC reserved constituencies and 10 ST reserved constituencies in Telangana.
In Seemandhra, SC reserved constituencies should be 30 and ST reserved constituencies should be nine. If the central government decides to conduct the Assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls, after adjusting the SC and ST reserved constituencies in both states, the Central Election Commission (CEC) can take up this process.
If the adjustments are made, one SC and two ST reserved constituencies will go down in Telangana. In Seemandhra, the numbers will increase by one SC and two ST reserved constituencies.
In the process, ST Assembly constituencies Mulugu in Warangal district and Devarakonda in Nalgonda district will become general constituencies in Telangana.
In Karimnagar district among Dharmapuri, Choppadandi and Manakondur SC Assembly constituencies, one will become a general constituency. In Seemandhra, Patapatnam general Assembly constituency in Srikakulam district and Kovur Assembly constituency in Nellore district or Macherla Assembly constituency in Guntur district will be reserved for STs. In Kurnool district, one general Assembly constituency will be reserved for SCs.
After making these adjustments, the Election Commission can conduct Assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls. When Delhi state was formed, the Election Commission followed the same process.
If the Centre wants to go for the third option, Assembly elections will be held in both states in 2015. After full-fledged delimitation in Telangana, the total number of Assembly seats will increase from 119 to 153 and in Seemandhra from 175 to 225. This is a lengthy process and it will take at least six months to be implemented, said an expert in the delimitation process.
The general elections notification is expected in the last week of February or the first week of March. The total election process will be completed by end of May 2014.
