The AP Reorganisation Bill to carve out the state of Telangana received Presidential assent on Saturday even as back channel negotiations to shape the political contours ahead of the elections are reportedly on.
Following the President’s assent, the Centre is expected to issue a gazette notification within the next few days, indicating the date on which the two states would come into being.
The President has also signed the proclamation for the imposition of the President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh. Even as the official process is being carried out, political parleys continue, with both the Congress and TRS still exploring better political options.
The Congress is understood to have told the TRS that the seats currently held by the two parties should not be disturbed and that the rest would be equally distributed between them. The Congress won 50 out of the 119 MLA seats in Telangana in the 2009 elections and the TRS 10. The TRS would have to be content with just around 45 seats, a proposition not to the liking of the regional party, which is of the view that it should be given a position that allows it to play a dominant role in the future of Telangana. Wary of how the Congress would behave post-elections, the TRS is also said to be insisting that the party provide clarity on the leadership issue before the polls.