Rahul good leader, will reach consensus on PM candidate after tallying results: Chandrababu

Haldia (WB): TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has termed Rahul Gandhi a "good leader who has concerns for the nation" and asserted that unlike 1996, non-BJP parties won't commit the mistake of keeping the Congress out if such an alliance forms a government at the Centre.

In an interview to PTI on the sidelines of a poll meeting in East Midnapore district's Haldia in support of TMC candidates, he claimed the BJP is on its way out, and batted for a coalition government saying, "It's better to have checks and balances." On the contentious issue of prime ministerial candidate of a non-BJP front, Naidu, who has been rallying regional parties to form such a coalition, said the constituents "will reach a consensus after tallying the number of seats each party gets".

He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become desperate on realising that he is losing the Lok Sabha elections. "There is anti-incumbency. PM Modi tried his best, but he has no achievement. Because of that, he started talking about Pulwama (terror attack) and (Balakot) air strikes. In every meeting he is accusing and abusing opposition leaders," the incumbent chief minister of Andhra Pradesh alleged.

"If you go through Modi's campaign you will see he is getting weaker and more desperate. Earlier also he was weak but he managed the media. He threatened all politicians so that no one raises their voice," Naidu claimed. On whether a coalition of regional parties will include the Congress in government formation or keep it out if such an opportunity arises, he said, "You cannot have such restrictions. You need the magic figure (272 seats) to form the government. Restrictions will ultimately break the unity."

"All of us will sit together and reach a consensus to build the future of this country," Naidu said. He lauded the Congress president by terming him a good leader, but evaded a direct reply to the question whether Rahul Gandhi's name could be proposed as prime ministerial candidate, saying if he names someone others might get hurt which will break the opposition unity. "He (Rahul Gandhi) is a good leader. He has concerns for the nation, unlike Narendra Modi, who is hollow and never listens to anybody. Modi tries to rule by threatening others," the TDP supremo said.

Naidu's comments comes just days after his meeting with Gandhi to discuss the post-poll scenario. The Telugu Desam Party president, who was the convener of the United Front government from 1996-1998, said time the experiment failed because the Congress was kept out of the government.