2 districts from Rayalaseema could still be added to Telangana, says Cong

Despite the potential controversy it could cause, the option of adding Anantpur and Kurnool districts from Rayalaseema to the new state of Telanagana is still open, Congress sources told CNN-IBN. 

The decision on whether to add the two districts to the state of Telangana will be taken by the Group of Ministers, the sources said.

CNN-IBN also reported that the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi had urged party leaders to defend the party’s decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh into two states.

The addition  of the two districts is being seen as one that would hit both the YSR Congress and Telugu Desam Party. It would also result in an equal number of Lok Sabha seats, 21, from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states.

The addition of the two districts had been backed by some parties but could  see significant opposition from the Rayalaseema districts.

Parties like the TRS and social groups, which have been fighting for the separate state of Telangana, have also been opposed to the addition of the two states.

While endorsing the decision to form the state of Telangana, the Congress had said that the new state would consist only of 10 districts and had avoided making any statement on splitting the Rayalaseema region between the two states.