UPA will disintegrate after UP polls: Venkaiah

Chennai, Mar 27: Former BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu today said the BJP was fast recovering lost ground in Uttar Pradesh and predicted the disintegration of the UPA at the Centre after the Assembly polls in that state.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Naidu, who is also in charge of Uttar Pradesh, claimed that fissures had developed in the Congress-led UPA at the Centre.

''All is not well within the UPA. The BSP and MDMK have quit.

The Samajwadi Party has also quit the UPA. There are differences of opinion between the Left parties and the UPA on several issues, including Nandigram,'' he said and predicted a major change in the national political scene after the results of the Uttar Pradesh polls.

''Going by the present mood, there is a strong anti-Congress and anti-UPA waves in the country,'' he said and referred to the outcome of the recent Assembly polls in Punjab and Uttarkhand.

Stating that it would be a battle between BJP and the rest, he rubbished the Congress' claim that no single party would get a majority in the ensuing UP polls.

''After the UP results are out, the UPA will become DPA (Divided Progressive Alliance) leading to its break down,'' he said, while parrying a question on whether he foresaw midterm polls to the Lok Sabha.

''We have to wait and see the effect of the UP polls and the Presidential polls. Anything can happen. I am not suggesting mid term polls. But I will not rule out collapse of the UPA after the UP polls,'' Mr Naidu added.

Mr Naidu said preliminary assessment suggested that the BJP was fast, regaining lost ground and capturing new grounds in Uttar Pradesh, as evident from the outcome of the Local Body polls in which the party captured nine of the 12 Corporations''. ''The present trend showed resurgence of the BJP and by the time polling comes closer, we will move towards a majority,'' he added.

Claiming that the people had become disenchanted both with the UP and the UPA governments, Mr Naidu said the BJP would focus on Five Cs -- Criminalisation, Communalisation, Casteism, Corruption and Cost or price -- during its poll campaign.

''These are the five major issues in the elections. We will tell the people that the parties which are with the UPA are responsible for them,'' he added.

He accused the Congress of pursuing vote-bank politics and targetting the minority votes in Uttar Pradesh and said the recent developments and the government's failure to execute the death sentence of Md AFzal, convicted in the Parliament attack case for the gravest of grave crimes, were cases in point.

''The Congress is making all out efforts to woo the minorities.

We will raise all these issues and appeal to the people of UP to reject this communal approach of the UPA,'' he said.

Observing that the difference between the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) and the SP (Samajwadi Party) was ''Be SP'', Mr Naidu said both the parties were corrupt and were encouraging criminalisation and pursuing divisive politics. ''The BJP will also explain this to the people while campaigning,'' he added.

UNI