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ELECTIONS '96

Naidu non-committal on support to Cong, BJP

Chief Minister and United Front convener N Chandrababu Naidu said today his ruling Telugu Desam Party will meet soon to take stock of the political scenario that has emerged after the Lok Sabha poll.

Asked if he would support either the BJP or the Congress, Naidu said, ''The TDP considers the Congress its 'number one enemy' in the state, but is opposed to the BJP at the national level.''

When his attention was drawn to the Left's willingness to extend support to the Congress, Naidu said, ''It might be the CPI-M's opinion.''

"No comment," was his answer on whether the UF would again stake a claim to form a government.

Naidu said that the anti-establishment sentiment, which had dealt a crushing blow in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa and Rajasthan, could be one of the reasons for the TDP getting eight seats less than what it had won in the 1996 Lok Sabha poll. The party bagged 12 seats now.

He said that the BJP's stability plank and the projection of its prime ministerial candidate also made some voters switch to the saffron party.

Alleging that the Congress and the BJP politicised natural calamities and the cotton growers's suicides, Naidu asserted that the government did everything possible to alleviate the farmers's sufferings.

He said the TDP candidates lost their seats by narrow margins, adding that he did not consider the poll outcome as a verdict against his government's policies.

He said all the reforms and developmental programmes undertaken by his government would be implemented with redoubled vigour.

Asked if the Sonia factor worked to the advantage of the Congress, Naidu shot back, ''You are seeing for yourself'' (apparently meaning not so good showing by the Congress).

UNI

Elections '98

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