New Delhi / Hyderabad:
Telangana will be India's 29th state. The decision was unanimously cleared this evening by the ruling UPA coalition. An announcement is expected shortly, most likely in the form of a short resolution, after a meeting of the Congress's top decision making agency, its Working Committee. (
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Ahead of the historic declaration, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy met the PM and party president Sonia Gandhi. He has reportedly been persuaded not to resign in protest against the Congress's decision. (
Read:Two options, careful strategy and a historic decision)
"It wasn't an easy decision but now everyone has been heard and a decision has been taken," said senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who is assigned to managing Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana is one of the three regions of Andhra Pradesh. Protests demanding a "united Andhra" have been intensifying in the other two - Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. "The law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh is absolutely fine," said Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. (
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The impetus for the big Telangana announcement comes from the fact that the national elections, in which the Congress will seek a third term in power, are just months away. Nearly half of the 42 parliamentary seats from Andhra Pradesh are housed in Telangana. So by making it a state, the Congress is counting on a windfall among voters.
The concerns of the non-Telangana regions are centered heavily on the future of Hyderabad and its muscular economy. The Centre has reportedly decided to make the city a shared capital between the old and new states. (
Read: the likely road-map for birth of a new state)