SP out, Maya tests Third Front waters, sounds off TDP

With the Samajwadi Party rallying behind the Congress-led UPA Government as it goes for a trust vote in Parliament...

With the Samajwadi Party rallying behind the Congress-led UPA Government as it goes for a trust vote in Parliament, the Bahujan Samaj Party BSP is said to have sounded out the Telugu Desam Party TDP to explore the possibility of joining a new regional grouping now that the UNPA is in tatters.

Minutes after the Left announced its decision to withdraw support, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu told The Indian Express: 8220;I learn that the Samajwadi Party is seeking an alliance with the Congress in Maharashtra and elsewhere besides Uttar Pradesh. The UNPA constituents will have to look at the options available before them.8221;

Asked if the BSP and the TDP could become the decisive bloc in the new Lok Sabha, Naidu, who sees merit in staying off a BJP-led alliance, said: 8220;Add the Left and other UNPA constituents to that8221;. With the BJP working on UNPA remnants like the AGP, the INLD and Babulal Marandi8217;s Jharkhand Vikas Manch, that, however, may be easier said than done.

Sources, however, confirmed that the TDP and the BSP 8212; both nursing ambitions to play a larger role at the Centre 8212; are already discussing Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. The BSP may not bring much in terms of vote share for Naidu 8212; it polled just about 1.5 per cent of the votes in the 2004 state assembly election, managing to get one of their members elected to the Assembly 8212; but as a TDP leader said, 8220;the pro-BSP sentiment would help Naidu mount the biggest challenge of his life in form of Chiranjeevi8217;s soon-to-be-launched party8221;.

Lambasting the Congress-led government on the nuclear deal, Naidu wondered why Delhi couldn8217;t wait for a new administration in the USA. 8220;President Bush is the biggest threat to the world. Most of the problems, including in the Muslim world, are of his making. I can8217;t then understand why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants to serve Bush8217;s agenda. Why not wait until a new administration is in place in the USA,8221; said Naidu.

On whether he would like to be seen voting with the BJP against the UPA, he said: 8220;Parties like the Left and the BSP are also there to oppose the deal.8221;