By-election a ''mini referendum'' on performance of Cong: BJP

Hyderabad, May 16 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Andhra Pradesh today projected the May 29 by-elections to four Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly seats as a ''mini referendum'' on the performance of the Congress Government and not on the Telangana issue.

Kicking off the party's campaign in the Musheerabad Assembly Constituency in the city, BJP state President Bandaru Dattatreya alleged that people were unhappy with the soaring prices of essential commodities after getting ''tall promises'' from the government.

In the upcoming by-election, people will teach the ruling Congress a 'fitting lesson', which was allegedly ''steeped in rampant corruption,'' he claimed.

He said both the Congress and the TRS owed an explanation to the people on the Telengana issue.

''Only the BJP-led NDA, under the leadership of its Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani, could achieve statehood for Telangana after the 2009 general election,'' he added.

Terming the electoral understanding between the TDP and CPI (M) ''opportunistic'', he asked the people to reject the TDP, which had joined hands with the Marxists in its urge ''to somehow come to power after pursuing anti-people economic policies.'' UNI SM GKT KD SSC1330