Cong mulls snap polls with T decision

* Cong Core Group's crucial meet today * Digvijay to present roadmap before announcing decision * Monsoon session of Parliament may be delayed

Anita Saluja New Delhi: The Congress is all set to go for snap polls for Lok Sabha, along with the Assembly elections in the five States of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Mizoram, slated for November-December, the reason why the Congress is now prepared to set in motion the process for the creation of a separate Telangana State. Indications that the Congress-led UPA government is contemplating to hold early elections gained ground when sources revealed that the monsoon session of Parliament may be delayed till the third week of August.

Generally, it is held in the third week of July.On the eve of the Congress Core Group meeting that has been called to discuss the roadmap on Telangana, a senior Congress leader confided, "We always wanted to announce Telangana around the Lok Sabha polls." With the monsoon session likely to be delayed, the Centre is gearing up to take up all the pending issues, before it can take the call on the snap polls.

Apart from the vexed issue of Telangana that has to be solved as the Congress is eyeing for sizeable number of seats in Andhra Pradesh, the UPA government is also keen to enact the Food Security Bill, the game-changer for the Congress in the elections. Aware that the Opposition may create hurdles in the passage of the Bill, the UPA government had taken the Ordinance route. Significantly, even the allies and the supporting parties of the Congress are not enthusiastic about the Bill. On Thursday, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav met the Prime Minister and suggested key changes in the Food Security Bill. The Ordinance has to be replaced by a Bill within six months in Parliament.

On Telangana, the Congress will discuss the roadmap today, whereby if possible they can bring the Bill in Parliament after getting the nod from the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. The timeline and nitty-gritty for the announcement and its implementation will also be discussed today. AICC General Secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh declared that presentation would be made on Friday (today) after which decision will follow. He made the statement after meeting a delegation of ministers from Seemandhra region.

The Core Group will firm up the roadmap not only for Telangana but also for the monsoon session and the snap polls. Since all of these are linked, the meeting with State Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and APCC Chief Botcha Satyanarayana, along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, is considered to be crucial.

It is from Andhra Pradesh that the Congress had secured the highest number of 33 Lok Sabha seats in 2009 and this time, the Congress has to at least retain the tally if it wants to come back to power and make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister.