Open to any party, including TRS, joining anti-BJP front: Chandrababu Naidu
New Delhi: TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, who is spearheading an effort to cobble up an anti-BJP front, Friday said not only the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but any outfit which is against the saffron party are welcome to join a grand alliance after the election results are declared.
Naidu has stepped up efforts to bring together parties which are against the BJP ahead of a possible meeting of the grand alliance after the election results are declared on May 23.
The Andhra Pradesh chief minister met CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday and discussed with them about the possible tie-up in the post-election scenario.
According to sources, Naidu is likely to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the national capital and BSP chief Mayawati in Lucknow Saturday.
"We welcome not only the TRS but any party which is against the BJP. We are welcoming all such parties to be a part of our grand alliance," Naidu told reporters after meeting the Election Commission of India (ECI) here.
He was responding to a query if a Congress-led grand alliance will join hands with the TRS, which is trying to bring together all regional parties to forge a non-Congress, non-BJP front, after the election results are declared.
"I am meeting everybody. Will chalk out a plan after discussing with all leaders," Naidu added.
In the meeting with the ECI, the TDP president said that he requested the poll panel to take a serious note of the series of complaints filed by his party including against the repoll ordered in Chandragiri Assembly segment in the Andhra Pradesh and counting of votes in the entire constituency if discrepancy found in VVPAT slips with five mandated Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in any part of the country.
"As on today, the ECI's decisions are very controversial, one-sided, pro-establishment and pro-government. During the entire election, they were supporting the government. It is unfortunate," he told reporters after the meeting.
Questioning the working style of the poll panel, Naidu said, "I am the party president for the last 25 years. I have never seen this type of Election Commission."
The transfer of the West Bengal home secretary for alleged interference in the election process is an "unnecessary interference" of the poll panel, he said, adding, "We don't want to surrender our powers to the ECI or the Government of India."
Invoking of Article 324 to abruptly curtail the campaign period in West Bengal and "giving time to Prime Minister Narendra Modi" to hold two rallies is "unfortunate and not correct", Naidu said.
Further, the ECI is "not taking action" against the BJP's Bhopal candidate Sadhvi Pragya Thakur who has "insulted" Mahatma Gandhi.
Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, ignited a fresh controversy Thursday by claiming that Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse "is and will remain a patriot".
"The ECI not taking action against any BJP MPs, Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Amit Shah (BJP president)," he said while protesting the "unfair approach" of the poll panel.
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Three dead after drinking country liquor in Meerut, police initiate probe
Meerut (UP) (PTI): Three people died under suspicious circumstances after consuming country liquor in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Preliminary probe has not confirmed if they died due to the quality of alcohol, officials said on Saturday.
All three vomited and had abdominal pain after drinking the liquor on Friday evening and were rushed to a hospital where they were declared dead. A post-mortem will determine the exact cause of death, they said.
According to the police, Baburam (60), a grocery shop owner, Jitendra (35), who worked at his shop and Ankit alias Daulat (40), purchased liquor in the evening from a government-authorised country liquor outlet and began drinking at the spot.
Shortly after drinking the liquor, the health of all three deteriorated, and they began complaining of vomiting and abdominal pain.
The three were rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared Jitendra and Ankit dead, while Baburam passed away during treatment.
Additional Director General (ADG) of Police for the Meerut Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar, District Magistrate VK Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Avinash Pandey, and District Excise Officer Pradeep Kumar reached the spot and initiated an investigation.
SSP Avinash Pandey said that preliminary investigations have not confirmed whether the liquor was "toxic or expired". The bottling date was found to be February 11, 2026, and other bottles from the same batch received no such complaints.
He added that a post-mortem will determine the exact cause of death. Personnel from the Health, Forensic, Surveillance, and Intelligence teams have been constituted to investigate the matter.
Following the incident, the family members created a ruckus at the hospital. Police said further action would be taken based on the findings of the investigation.
