United Front convenor and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister M Chandrababu Naidu was brimming with confidence and satisfaction when he declared yesterday that the unanimous election of a new leader in the United Front has shown the world that the United Front has to work and will work in this country.
Naidu, who has emerged as a major player on the national scene during the entire crisis over the last 20 days, made it clear yesterday that he only personified the rising importance of regional parties in national politics. Regional parties will play a very crucial role at the Centre, Naidu said, adding that no matter who ruled the Centre, it had to be a coalition.
The next elections are going to be fought between the United Front and the BJP-led National Democratic Front. No single party is in a position to come to power in India, not at least for the next few years, he said.
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Looking back to the last 20 days, Naidu said no one believed the United Front would be able to overcome the crisis. Twenty days later, not only had it elected a new leader unanimously, it is intact and united. The TMC also has to take a decision in the national interest. The Front constituents had fought the last Lok Sabha elections separately, though on a common ground of opposing the BJP and the Congress. The peoples mandate was clearly in favour of a coalition as no party got a majority.
The United Front was formed and Congress supported it in order to check the communal forces. Comparing the formation days barely eleven months back, when people wondered whether this Front would hold together at all, to the present, when the Front government has been given a good rating by all, even better than the previous governments, he said it was clear that coalitions can work, and work well, in the country. Naidu said the government had fallen not because of internal problems, but due to the Congress withdrawing its support.
It was a crisis situation for the Front which has fourteen constituents ranging from the Left parties to regional parties and Janata Dal which has a leadership consisting of representatives from different states.
What happened was unfortunate, but we dont want to blame anyone, Naidu said. What has given satisfaction to him was that the Front could use the wisdom of strong peoples leaders who are ruling the states and are close to the people.
The politics is in the states, not in Delhi. The leadership is in the states not in Delhi, and as long as the United Front enjoyed the support of largest number of chief ministers, it would be able to sort out differences and compete with others in the national scene, Naidu said.