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The meeting saw leaders from various states demanding

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Press Trust of India
clarity on the issue of alliances. Jharkhand PCC chief Pradip Balumuchu said that the central leadership should make it clear whether Congress has to form a government in the tribal state currently under President's Rule after the BJP-JMM alliance collapsed there. He also demanded a clear idea whether Congress will ally with any party in Jharkhand in future elections or not and if yes, with whom. Congress' alliance with JVM (P) has fallen apart in the state and there is apparent unwillingness among central leaders of Congress to ally with Shibu Soren's JMM. Fresh from the debacle in BJP-ruled Gujarat, Congress state chief Arjun Modhwadia claimed that Congress' defeat was due to the party's inability to match Modi's "massive" media campaign, alleging the Gujarat government spent more than Rs 2,000 crore of government funds on campaign, which could not countered. He also said that there was an need to build a strategy to counter Modi with a "blitzkrieg" media campaign. Modhwadia alleged that Modi had resorted to "false propaganda" regarding development and other issues outside Gujarat. "When we counter his claims in Gujarat, our arguments remain limited to media in the state. So there is a need to counter Gujarat Chief Minister's false claims by other leaders at the central level," he said in the meeting, said sources. Several PCC Presidents and CLP leaders incuding Chief Minsters participated in the meeting which also saw demands for early resolution of the vexed Telangana issue with both Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and state chief Botcha Satyanarayana saying that the long pending issue should be resolved. It also saw complaints from some states where Congress is out of power that Chief ministers of opposition parties were praised by Union Ministers during their visits, creating an embarrassing situation for them, the sources said. (MORE)

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First Published: Feb 16 2013 | 12:30 AM IST

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