As it becomes certain that the announcement on Telangana statehood will be made after the UPA coordination committee and the Congress Working Committee meet this evening, last ditch efforts are being mounted by leaders who do not want the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Rediff.com's Anita Katyal reporting from New Delhi says that union Ministers from the Rayalseema and coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh including M Pallam Raju, D Purandeshwari, K Chiranjeevi, KS Rao and Panabalakshmi are presently closeted with Congress President Sonia Gandhi to plead their case for a united state.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is also slated to meet Digvijaya Singh, AICC general secretary incharge of Andhra Pradesh, later this afternoon to press against the creation of Telangana. Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah has said he will not support the formation of Telangana.

Meanwhile, preparations for the new state are on full swing. Digivijaya Singh along with Union Ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde, P Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to  prepare for this evening's meetings.