Nalgonda Parliament member and former PCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has predicted that Telangana Assembly polls would be held in May or June 2023, along with Karnataka, as Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao plans to dissolve the Assembly earlier to evade Assembly polls clashing with Parliament elections in 2024.
Mr. Reddy said if the State government decides to go for elections in December 2023 as per schedule, there is a likelihood of the Election Commission of India (ECI) combining them with Parliament polls in April 2024. Generally, ECI prefers to combine Assembly elections and Parliament elections if the gap between them is less than six months.
“So to escape that, Mr. Rao will go for early polls,” Mr. Reddy opined.
He advised the Congress leaders and aspirants of MLA tickets to move to their constituencies and work there to establish themselves. On whether he would contest for Parliament or Assembly elections, he said party chief Sonia Gandhi will decide it.
The former PCC chief also found fault with the State government evading Governor’s address at the start of Budget sessions with unconstitutional arguments. “This is not a fight between BJP and TRS and the government has to respect the constitutional practices and precedents. I will raise this issue in the Parliament,” he said.
Stating that Telangana police (combined AP as well) was respected across the country for their professionalism, he alleged that under TRS., their only work is to harass Congress workers and function more as TRS workers. “It is unfortunate and doesn’t augur well for the State,” he said.
He also demanded the Chief Minister to fill up 2 lakh vacancies and also implement 12% reservation to Muslims and tribals as promised.
