Tel CM's pitch for alternative front poses no political challenge: BJP

Hyderabad: The BJP on Tuesday said Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's efforts to forge a 'non-Congress, non-BJP' front is a "knee-jerk" reaction to poll results in the three north-eastern states, and will not pose a political challenge to the party or the NDA.

BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said his party getting a "massive mandate" in Tripura and forming the government there and in Meghalaya and Nagaland, has created a panic in many political parties about the BJP's continued growth.

"The BJP has expanded from five states in power in 2014 to 21 states now, this continued journey is likely to gobble up or is likely to threaten their (many other parties') own existence. So, it's more like a panic-stricken party's call for survival rather than posing a political challenge to the BJP or the NDA," he said.

"It's a knee-jerk reaction to the shocking defeat that the Congress has faced and the spectacular victory that the BJP has achieved (in the three NE states)," he claimed.

Efforts to stich a non-Congress, non-BJP front appeared to be gaining momentum with the Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reaching out to the DMK, and Chandrasekhar Rao continuing to receive support for such a proposal.