TRS thrust byelections on AP for its survival: Venkaiah

Hyderabad, May 12: Accusing the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) of thrusting the May 29 byelections on the people of Andhra Pradesh for its ''political survival,'' senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu today said the bypolls were no referendum on the issue of statehood for Telangana.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the party would contest the next Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on its own.

The byelections would not have any bearing on the state politics, he opined and asked why the TRS had, in the first place, aligned with the Congress party in the state.

Mr Naidu welcomed the support extended by the TRS (Narendra) party to the BJP in Musheerabad Assembly constituency.

He, however, dismissed as ''hypothetical'' whether the BJP was inclined to TRS(N) party's merger.

UNI