Naidu likely to drift to Left

A year after its defeat and a week after signs of distancing from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has for the first time admitted that relations with the saffron party and the Gujarat violence had a "negative effect" on its minority vote bank in the last year's elections and appears to be keeping its options open on joining the Left parties in forging a "third front".

TDP supremo and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who recently asked his party to keep away from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) boycott of Parliament and met DMK chief M Karunanidhi triggering speculation about his future moves, is not yet ready to come out openly on what he proposed to do.

In an hour-long interview here today, he gave enough indications that he was not comfortable with emerging strident voices of Hindutva in the BJP and appeared warming up to a relationship with the Left parties and constituents of the erstwhile United Front, though he was not sure when such a situation will evolve.

"Whenever somebody fails and there is a political vacuum, it will emerge," is all what he would say.

Careful with words, Naidu parried questions on his strategies and gave an impression that he would like to wait and watch at least till the next round of crucial Assembly polls especially in West Bengal and Kerala where the United Progressive Alliance constituents the Congress and the Left are main rivals.

"We have no relations with the BJP. Whenever there were common issues, we supported. Sometimes, we even differed," is what he would say and not go further to questions whether last week's decision to break ranks with the NDA on boycott of Parliament signalled the beginning of end of its relations with the BJP.

Naidu said, "We totally oppose Hindutva. We are committed to secularism and harmony among all communities. We are for resolution of the Ayodhya dispute through judicial process and the court verdict should be respected by all."

Explaining his party's stand, he said it was anguished at the time of post-Godhra riots and had asked for the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, which the BJP had rejected.

In protest, the party had refused to accept the Lok Sabha speakership after the death of TDP incumbent GMC Balayogi.

Asked why his party, on whose backing the NDA government was surviving, did not withdraw its support, Naidu said, "I did it differently."

Do you regret your support to the BJP, he said, "I do not want to go into what happened in the past. We will think about what we should do in future. There are so many issues."

Elaborating on the point how relationship with the BJP had adversely affected the TDP, in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections when he lost power, Naidu said, "The Gujarat problem did have a negative impact on the minorities support for the TDP despite his government's numerous steps for their welfare. We were not partners in the NDA even when we supported the government."

On why the party decided to end the parliamentary boycott, he said as a matter of opposition floor co-ordination his party supported the NDA on the issue of sacking of the tainted ministers from the government but beyond a stage "we need to discuss issues in Parliament."

To a query on BJP leader Promod Mahajan's comments that Gujarat violence was a matter of second regret for the BJP after Ayodhya and a black mark on any civilisation he said, "We have always been steadfastly in favour of secularism and this was included in the NDA's agenda of governance, which formed the basis of the TDP's support."

Asked if the BJP was unhappy over the TDP's decision to end the boycott, he said the BJP leadership had not talked to him after the party took the decision.

Asked about the significance of his meeting with Karunanidhi, he maintained that it was a courtesy call and no political meaning should be read into it.