Telangana: MLC election under MLA quota to be delayed

In a disappointment to the aspirants, Telangana government on Saturday wrote to Central Election Commission stating that it is not the right time to conduct MLC election under MLA's quota. The tenure of MLA quota MLCs ended on June 3 and all are waiting for the government to announce early polls.

Gutha Sukender Reddy, Neti Vidyasagar, Bodakunti Venkateshwarlu, Kadiyam Srihari, Mohammad Fariduddin and Akula Lalitha had served as MLCs under MLA quota whose tenure has been ended. Also, the tenure of Telangana Bhavan incharge M Srinivas Reddy who was elected under governor quota was also ended on June 16.

Usually, the election commission completes the process of filling up the vacant posts by the time the tenure ends. However, due to the COVID-19 second wave, the elections have been deferred. Therefore, the posts fell vacant from June 3.

As the cases subsided, the Central Election Commission asked the Telangana government on the conduct of MLC election under MLA's quota. In a reply, the government said that it is not the right time to hold the election in the state as the COVID-19 cases are gradually increasing and the vaccination process has not yet completed.