Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu has dismissed the merger of Praja Rajyam in Congress as a development that was on expected lines. Mr. Naidu said the party had anticipated this merger long ago.

He went on to assert that if Chiranjeevi had not entered politics before 2009 Assembly elections, Congress would not have returned to power and people would have been spared of the sufferings they were undergoing now.

A cheerful Mr. Naidu said the merger once again showed that Telugu Desam was the only formidable alternative to Congress and no other party could rise to that level.

Historically, the TDP not only took on Congress in the State but played key role in building and bringing to power a national political alternative.

Published Date : Tuesday, 8/2/2011 12:55 PM IST