Telangana Assembly dissolved eight months before completion of full term

Governor requests KCR to continue as caretaker till new arrangements are made; CM to hold press meet to explain reasons for the move

In a bewildering political decision, the council of ministers headed by chief minister K Chandrasekhara Rao today approved a resolution to dissolve the Telangana state legislative assembly almost eight months ahead of its five-year term.

Soon after the cabinet meeting was over, chief minister Rao went straight to Rajbhavan and handed over the cabinet resolution copy recommending the dissolution of the state assembly to Governor E S L Narasimhan. Accepting the recommendation, Governor Narasimhan requested Rao and his council of ministers to continue in the government.

"In consequence of the notification issued vide G O Ms No. 46, Legislature Secretariat, dated 6th September, 2018 , dissolving the Telangana State Legislative Assembly with immediate effect, the Governor of Telangana hereby authorises Chief Minister Sri Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao and his colleges in the council of ministers to continue in office as a Caretaker Government of Telangana," chief secretary Shailendra Kumar Joshi said in a notification.

Chief minister Rao had sufficiently hinted about the possibility of such a major political move the past few couple of months and apparently consulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his intentions to be able to go for polls along with Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh December. 

Interestingly, neither Rao nor his cabinet colleagues have ever sought to give any explanation as to why the state government intended to take such a big move with no external trigger till the cabinet on Thursday afternoon approved a single sentence resolution. KCR was slated to hold a press conference at his party office this afternoon explain the reasons behind the dissolution of the assembly.

The Telangana government headed by KCR was formed on June 2, 2014 on the day of formal division of the undivided Andhra Pradesh while the elections were held in April-May period in the same year.