Mid-term poll the only alternative 8212; Thackeray

MUMBAI, April 17: Describing the fall of the 13-month old Atal Behari Vajpayee Government as a misfortune for the country, Shiv Sena chie...

MUMBAI, April 17: Describing the fall of the 13-month old Atal Behari Vajpayee Government as a misfortune for the country, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said today that under such circumstances, where no single party has clear majority, mid-term poll is the only alternative to tackle the political crisis.

8220;No doubt that mid-term poll is the only alternative, but imposing frequent elections will lead to anarchy in the country,8221; Thackeray said in a statement.

In the event that a new government is formed at the Centre, it would be a temporary 8220;patchwork8221; of several non-cohesive elements, Thackeray said, adding, 8220;Those politicians responsible for the fall of the Vajpayee Government will end up regretting their decision.8221;

Thackeray asked Jayalalitha, who was largely responsible for the downfall of the BJP-led Government, to make the same demands she did to the Vajpayee Government, to the new Congress-led Government now.

Congress would now understand what has to be done to keep their 8220;politicalshareholders8221; in good humour, he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP described the fall of Vajpayee Government as unfortunate, while the Congress celebrated the event by distributing sweets all over the metropolis.

Rane said that despite the resignation of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, there would be absolutely no impact on the alliance government.

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8220;Certainly, it was unfortunate. While we have an alliance with BJP in Maharashtra; at the Centre also, we were part of the Government,8221; Rane said.

The Chief Minister said the relations between the alliance government and the Centre were very cordial, as it was getting full cooperation from the Centre. 8220;Our pending projects were cleared expeditiously by the Vajpayee Government, which helped speedy development of the State,8221; Rane pointed out.

Expressing similar views, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawade said it was highly undemocratic to defeat the Government when it was all set to move the Budget and Finance Bill in the Parliament.8220;It was a highlyirresponsible attitude of a section of the Opposition parties led by Jayalalitha,8221; Tawade added.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary Kripa Shankar Singh said it was the defeat of the fundamentalist and communal forces on the floor of the Lok Sabha. 8220;The new Government, whenever it is formed, should take immediate steps to protect the life and property of minorities and defeat the designs of fundamentalist forces,8221; Singh said.

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The Congress leader asked the Sena-BJP Government to take serious note of the developments in New Delhi and be prepared to face the ensuing Assembly elections.

Former housing minister W R Sherekar felt that in the larger interest, All India Congress Committee AICC President Sonia Gandhi should take the reins of the country, as she alone could provide a strong leadership like Indira Gandhi.

Cultural Affairs Minister Pramod Nawalkar said no Government could survive so long as there were politicians like Jayalalitha in politics.

Nawalkar said even aCongress-led Government would not be able to survive due to presence of Jayalalitha and added that the country was being pushed to anarchy8217; by politicians like her.f