Thursday, April 17, 2008 12:11 [IST]

Hyderabad: With the Election Commission announcing May 29 as the date for by-elections to four Lok Sabha and 18 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, major political parties are gearing up for what is described as the referendum on separate statehood for the Telangana region.

All political parties, especially the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), whose en masse resignations caused the by-polls, are gearing up for what is being described as a “semi-final” before the next year’s polls.

Four Lok Sabha members and 16 legislators of the TRS quit last month to protest the delay on the part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to accord statehood to Telangana, which comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad.

Alleging that the Congress has betrayed people of Telangana by going back on its 2004 poll promise, the TRS took the issue to “people’s court” through en masse resignation.

By-polls to two seats were necessitated by the death of legislators of the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

The stakes are high for all the major parties in view of the next year’s elections. (ఇంకా…)