NEWSLINKS US EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
BJP chief K Jana Krishnamurthy asserted on Sunday that the results of the assembly polls in four states and one Union territory would not affect the stability of the National Democratic Alliance government because they involved "local issues".
Speaking to the media at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Krishnamurthy conceded that "the electorate has given its verdict, which we accept with humility. But I don't think the poll results will have any adverse impact on the NDA government at the Centre because local issues were involved."
"We will go into the reasons for the lagging behind of the DMK in Tamil Nadu," the BJP chief said, when asked why the NDA constituent had been routed despite being the ruling party in the state.
"I think the people (of Tamil Nadu) wanted a change for change's sake, there was no anti-incumbency factor involved, given the DMK's performance in the state," he said, adding, "I congratulate the AIADMK on its performance; it reflects the verdict of the people."
Krishnamurthy was unwilling to accept that the BJP-AGP combine in Assam was poised for a defeat at the hands of the Congress. "No, no, my information is that we are in a good position in Assam where a neck-to-neck race is on. We will have to wait for all the results to be declared in the state before we see who has won," he said.
Asked about the emerging results in West Bengal, which showed that the Left Front was far ahead of the Trinamool-Congress combine, he said it was no surprise. "We knew the Left would return to power, but with a reduced majority," he argued.
Asked specifically about the performance of the Trinamul Congress, the BJP chief said, "From the day Mamata Banerjee left the NDA, we have been saying that she will never become the West Bengal chief minister."
Asked, further, whether the Trinamul Congress would now return to the NDA fold, Krishnamurthy reacted angrily: "The question does not arise."
"The BJP does not have any great stake in West Bengal, we only wanted to improve our existing position," he said, adding that his party would win a few seats there.
Referring to the results in Kerala, the BJP chief said, "The pendulum theory applies here. We failed in Kerala, but we improved in TN," he pointed out.
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