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Congress may have influenced exit poll agencies: Venkaiah

By Our Staff Reporter

ALAPPUZHA, APRIL 25 . The BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, today alleged that the Congress may have influenced those who conducted exit polls to present a rosy picture for the party in the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls, which are being held along with the Lok Sabha polls.

Talking to reporters at Mavelikara, Mr. Naidu said there was no unanimity among exit poll agencies about the result. Mr. Naidu claimed that the BJP would storm to power in Karnataka. He said the Telugu Desam Party under the leadership of N. Chandrababu Naidu would retain power in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Naidu claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would win more than 300 seats in the polls. "The BJP alone would win at least 200 Lok Sabha seats," said the BJP president. He said the Congress would not win 100 Lok Sabha seats in the present polls. Mr. Naidu said the BJP would win more seats in South India this time and would open its account in Kerala.

Later, inaugurating a campaign meeting of the BJP candidate in the Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency, S. Krishnakumar, the BJP president said his party would implement a three-point programme for minorities, if elected to power. "The BJP's programme would be based on education, economic progress and empowerment of minorities," said Mr. Naidu.

Mr. Naidu said several Christian priests had supported the BJP in Kerala. The Delhi Imam had asked the minorities to vote for the BJP in the coming elections, he said.

Mr. Naidu dared the Congress and the CPI(M) to join hands in Kerala to oppose the BJP. "Why should you fight each other in Kerala after joining hands in Delhi?" asked the BJP president. He said both the fronts were cheating the people of Kerala by fighting against each other.

Dwelling at length on the achievement of the Vajpayee Government, Mr. Naidu said the NDA Government had brought about a connectivity revolution in the country. "The Prime Minister's Grama Sadak Yojana scheme had succeeded in constructing good quality roads in remote villages of the country," he said. The total number of telephone connections had increased several fold, said the BJP president. The new airports being constructed at several places in the country and the Sagarmala project connecting the ports of the country would speed up the development process, Mr. Naidu said.

Mr. Naidu wondered how the Congress leadership, which had failed in uniting the warring groups of the party, would run a coalition after elections. "While the NDA is an alliance of conviction, the Congress lead front is an alliance of compulsion," he said. The Congress had forged unity with many groups with whom they differed on various issues, said the BJP president.

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