BJP will emerge as powerful force in future: Naidu

Hyderabad, Feb 3: Criticising the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for its ''anti-people'' policies, Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu today said his party would emerge as a powerful force in the country in the future.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Naidu said his party would change the political situation in the elections to Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

He claimed the results of the local body elections in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra had indicated the party's increasing popularity and the Congress's downward trend.

He said the BJP had taken several measures to strengthen itself in the Southern and Eastern states and would launch programmes in this direction to gear up the party for the 2009 elections.

Mr Naidu said the party had prepared a three-phase programme which included strengthening the organisational set-up in the states with formation of Committees in all the mandals.

He said the party would launch peoples' agitations on several issues and create awareness among the people on the ideological differences between the BJP and other parties.

He alleged that the UPA government during its two-and-a-half year rule had not taken up any developmental activities and was pursuing anti-people policies in the country.

Blaming the UPA government for neglecting agricultural sector and rural development, he alleged that the Centre was pursuing vote bank politics to cover up its mistakes.

The BJP leader alleged that the government had failed to control prices of essential commodities and inflation, which was on an average at 3.2 percent during the BJP rule and had gone up to 6.2 per cent now.

Regarding creation of separate Telangana, he said the BJP always favoured formation of smaller states and it would support the aspirations of Telangana people.

He said separate Telangana should be formed as early as possible.

BJP state President Bandaru Dattatreya said the party would emerge as a decisive force in the forthcoming elections to Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry Municipal Corporations and Hindupur Municipality.

He said the party would launch agitations in the state on farmers problems, inadeaquate power supply to agricultural sector and price rise.

Mr Dattatreya further said the women wing of the party would organise a 'Manavaharam'' in the city from February six to 14 to protest against the hike in prices of essential commodities.

UNI