EC could consider scheduling Telangana polls with other states, says ex-CEC TS Krishnamurthy

Hyderabad: There is a reasonable possibility of the Election Commission (EC) considering scheduling Telangana Assembly elections along with the four states where polls are due later this year in case the House is dissolved, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) TS Krishnamurthy said on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_4449945” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image K Chandrasekhar Rao. Twitter@TelanganaCMO[/caption] There is heightened speculation in political circles that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is all set to recommend dissolution of the House, with an aim to club the state elections with that of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, due in November-December. A meeting of the state Cabinet has been convened for Thursday where it may consider adopting a resolution recommending dissolution of the House. “Yes, that’s what is happening. (Chief Minister may consider recommending dissolution of the Assembly),” a senior leader of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) told PTI. Assembly elections are originally scheduled to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls in April-May next year, but the chief minister is keen on “uncoupling’ the two polls, seeing it as an advantage for the ruling TRS. “If the Assembly is dissolved by the chief minister, the EC will certainly consider bunching along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. “Generally, the idea is to bunch them. If it’s dissolved, the EC will certainly consider bunching them,” Krishnamurthy told PTI. “If they Telangana government dissolve the Assembly before the EC announces poll schedule for the four states then they are going to bunch it,” he said. But if it’s one or two days before the announcement, it may be difficult for EC but they will consider, the former CEC said. Generally, the intention is to bunch as far as possible, it’s easy for them, he added. However, he said the election schedule depends on “ground realities” in Telangana. “If there are special difficulties, they may not be able to do. It depends on local conditions,” Krishnamurthy said. “If it’s around the time, they will certainly bunch it,” he said. According to him, electoral rolls are prepared as on 1 January. Normally, the rolls hold good but if the EC feels there is a need for a special drive to “weed out or include” names, they can do it by giving a window of 15 days or three weeks, he said. “If it’s dissolved, they will consider bunching. There is a reasonable possibility of bunching. If local conditions are different, if there are special problems relating to the state, they may hold it even 15 days later. There is a reasonable possibility of bunching if it’s dissolved,” he said.