Hyderabad: The process relating to the Telangana state Assembly elections is moving as predicted by TRS president and caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, with the Election Commission scheduling the poll for December 7. The results will be declared on December 11.
As Mr Rao had stated earlier, the TS polls elections will be held along with elections to four other states, according to the schedule announced by Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat on Saturday.
Chhattisgarh will go to the polls in two phases on November 12 and 20, elections in Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram will be held on November 28 and Rajasthan will vote along with TS on December 7,
After the dissolution of the Assembly on September 6, Mr Rao had told the media that the TS elections would be held along with that of four other states and the election process would be completed by the first week of December.
He said that the election schedule would be announced in the first week of October and the notification issued in November. It so happened that Mr Rawat announced the election schedule on October 6; Mr Rao considers six his lucky number.
The election notification will be issued on November 12, and filing of nominations will start the same day. Polling will be held on December 7 and counting of votes will take place on December 11. The new government will be formed in the third week of December.
Political parties have ample time for campaigning, and the Congress has enough time to work out seat adjustments with its allies. With 36 days remaining for issuing the notification, political parties are in no hurry to take up election-related activities.
The main political parties like the TRS, Congress and the BJP have already started their campaigns. The TRS was at the forefront in announcing 105 out of 119 candidates. The Congress is still in discussions with its allies for a common minimum programme and the BJP has not announced its candidates yet.
The Congress and TD objected to the announcement of the election schedule while a petition with regard to voters’ list is in the High Court. TPCC election cell incharge Marri Sashidhar Reddy, and Telangana TD president L, Ramana, speaking to the media separately, questioned the necessity for the Election Commission to announce the TS Assembly election schedule in a hasty manner when the court was still hearing the petition.
