MLC elections in Telangana to be delayed

Hyderabad: The Election Commission on Thursday announced the election of MLCs from the Assembly quota, it deferred holding similar elections in Telangana stating that it is yet to receive a reply from the Union home ministry on discrepancies in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

The EC said in a statement that seven MLCs of Telangana, elected by MLAs, are retiring on March 29. But there is inconsistency in the number of seats fixed for this category under Section 23 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, i.e. 14, and the number of members allocated under the Fourth Schedule of the Act, i.e. 15.

The EC referred the matter to the home ministry under Section 108 of the Act to remove the inconsistency. The Centre is yet to respond.

Similarly, the EC said, eight MLCs elected by local bodies will be retiring on March 29 and May 1. One more MLC seat in this category is lying vacant since 2013 as there were no local bodies at that time.