Telangana elections may not be held along with other four states

NEW DELHI: Elections to Telangana Assembly, which was dissolved on Thursday, may not be held along with other states which are due for polls, news agency ANI reported. The other states where polls are due to be held this year are Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Mizoram. 

The Election Commision has to announce the dates for the elections in the Telangana after Governor ESL Narasimhan on Thursday dissolved the Telangana Assembly on Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's recommendation.

Elections in the state were scheduled to be held along with the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 but at a massive political rally last week, the CM sought a fresh mandate to continue working for the people. 

KCR's decision to recommend the dissolution of the Assembly has paved way for early polls in the state. He has been asked by the Governor to continue as caretaker Telangana CM till the new government is formed.

It is being suspected that the decision to advance the state elections is primarily due to the fear that Lok Sabha elections could have an impact on how the state votes for its own government. It is also feared that local issues could get hijacked if state assembly elections happen around the same time as the Lok Sabha elections.

After the Assembly was dissolved, KCR refuted joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party. "Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is a 100 per cent secular party. How can we join hands with BJP. We are going to contest election alone," he said.

He also attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi calling him the 'biggest buffoon'. "Everyone knows what Rahul Gandhi is...the biggest buffoon in the country. The whole country has seen how he went to Narendra Modi and hugged him, the way he is winking. The more he comes (to Telangana) the more seats we will win," Rao said on Thursday.