Andhra Pradesh to have polls as undivided unit

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh will have Lok Sabha and assembly polls as an undivided unit and the candidates elected will automatically become legislators of their respective states after Telangana comes into being on June 2.

Chief Election Commission V S Sampath explained that irrespective of the appointed day for the creation of the new state of Telangana, elections will be held to the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies as they exist today.

The corresponding Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies would go to the respective states once the bifurcation process of the state is complete.

"If an MLA is elected to any constituency which is part of undivided Andhra Pradesh today, the moment a new state is created, if he is part of Telangana, automatically he/she will become member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly," Sampath said.

Andhra Pradesh will go to polls on April 30 and May 7. The poll schedule is such that constituencies in Telangana will have polling on April 30 while balloting in Seemandhra region will take place on May 7.

Telangana region will have 17 Parliamentary constituencies and the Seemandhra region 25.

Telangana, the country's 29th state, will be born on June 2 and start functioning from that day.

The Central government has issued a notification for creation of the new state after Parliament gave its approval on February 20 for bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.

The Centre has imposed President's rule in Andhra Pradesh after the resignation of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.