Union Cabinet recommends President's Rule in AP

Nine days after N Kiran Kumar Reddy stepped down as the Chief Minister, the Union Cabinet on Friday decided to impose President's Rule in Andhra Pradesh.

The decision was taken during the Union Cabinet's meeting held at Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's residence on Friday morning.

According to sources, the decision was taken after the Congress High Command failed to get consensus on forming the next government. The indication of imposing President's Rule was given by the Centre on Wednesday evening itself when it recommended prorogation of the Parliament.

The Congress High Command held several rounds of discussions with the leaders of both Seemandhra and Telangana regions in the last one week. Although there were several aspirants for the Chief Minister's post, but none of them was ready to support the candidature of other leader. In view of lack of consensus, the Congress has decided to impose the President's Rule in the State.

Analysts say that the Congress lacked sufficient numbers to form the government in the State. A significant number of Congress MLAs have joined the camp of rebel Kiran Kumar Reddy while a few others sided with either the Telugu Desam Party or YSR Congress Party. Therefore, instead of seeking the support of TRS and MIM to run the government for a brief period, the Congress High Command opted for President's Rule.