Telangana: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy to meet Sonia Gandhi

Hours before it is expected to announce India's 29th state, the Congress government is aggressively trying to blunt the opposition from leaders within and outside Andhra Pradesh who are opposed to the bifurcation of the state.

An announcement on Telangana is likely to be made this evening after a series of meetings that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold at the latter's residence in Delhi. Senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, P Chidambaram, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad were among the leaders who met the Congress president today.

Anti-Telangana leaders within the Congress also met Digvijaya Singh to convey their concerns. Congress leaders from Andhra Pradesh who are from Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema had objected to statehood for Telangana, arguing that their voters would respond with retributive force. Pallam Raju, Human Resource Development minister, said this morning, "There is no question of resigning. We are all worried that whatever decision that they may make is going to have a long term implication in Andhra Pradesh."

Both the pro- as well as anti-Telangana factions from Andhra Pradesh are camping in Delhi. "Telangana will come into reality today. We are also hopeful that Hyderabad as its capital," Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha said today.

Various political parties have reacted to the Congress's decision to divide Andhra Pradesh. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said creating a state after a long agitation may set a bad precedent.

In Andhra Pradesh, those who oppose bifurcation of the state - mostly from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions - have intensified their agitation. Some anti-bifurcation rallies were reported this morning from the state.

The Centre has sent an additional 1,000 paramilitary soldiers to Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Four battalions have also been posted in the state for anti-Naxal operations. The Union Home Ministry is in constant touch with the Andhra Pradesh police.

Hyderabad, sources said, will not be designated a Union Territory. Instead, the city with its booming economy powered largely by the IT industry, will be a shared capital for Andhra Pradesh and the new Telangana state.   

The government is weighing the option of affixing two districts from Rayalaseema to Telangana's existing 10 districts. This will ensure the new and old states have 20 parliamentary seats each, and that the stronghold of political rival Jagan Mohan Reddy is divided across the new border.

The actual formation of the state is expected to be completed by early next year. The cabinet will share its plans with President Pranab Mukherjee and the Andhra Pradesh legislature will be asked for insights.  The PM will then set up a committee to negotiate consensus between the leaders from the three regions of the state for issues like how to share revenue and water. Both Houses of Parliament will have to then pass the resolution for the creation of a separate state.