Naidu asserts he is with Third Front

Hyderabad: Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu sought to clear the air over his party's post-election stand by asserting that he was with the Third Front.

Addressing a review meeting of Khammam and Warangal district party candidates at the NTR Trust Bhavan in Hyderabad, he expressed confidence that the Third Front would capture power at the Centre after May 16.

"Neither the BJP nor the Congress will secure majority to form the government. It will indeed be a Third Front government that is going to come to power," said Naidu, who the BJP hopes will shift to the NDA side should the need arise. He did not refer to the speculation that TDP may switch sides.

Naidu, who has been mostly talking about local issues and the party's performance in the elections at the review meetings, was in a way forced to spell out his stand after Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, whose party was part of the TDP-led Grand Alliance in Andhra Pradesh, not only switched over to the NDA but also promised to rope in other parties as well into the fold.

The TDP chief also sought to drive home the point that the Third Front was intact. "The Left parties, AIADMK, BSP, BJD and JD(S) are all in constant touch. We shall meet once again after the results are out on May 16 and decide on the formation of the government," Naidu told his partymen.

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Naidu also said regional parties would play a major role in the formation of next government at the Centre.

"Regional parties are going to play a decisive part once again at the national level," he claimed.

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The TDP chief got in touch with CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and BSP supremo Mayawati after the TRS episode and reassured them that he was indeed with the Third Front only, party sources said.