TDP reacts guardedly to win in RR dt.

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JULY 28. The Telugu Desam, which bagged the Ranga Reddy Zilla Parishad in today's election of the chairman amid accusations of horsetrading, reacted guardedly to victory.

``We are in a majority. We have, therefore, won,'' said Mr. T. Devender Goud, Minister for Home and Politburo member of the Telugu Desam, who belongs to the district.

Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Devender Goud said the TDP and the BJP together had a higher tally than the Congress. The TDP and the BJP contested the polls together, but the Congress hoped to garner the support of both the TRS and the CPI(M) after the polls. The plan did not work out.

Mr. Goud put it in so many words that the failure of the Congress to wrest the Ranga Reddy ZP was its own problem. The Telugu Desam had nothing to do with it. He denied that the party resorted to horse-trading. It relied on its own strength.

It was all over bar the shouting as far as the Telugu Desam was concerned once Mr. K. Satyanarayana, Congress ZPTC member from Kandukur, quit the party and the new post on Thursday.

Review panel holds first meet

Meanwhile, the party committee to review and analyse results of the local bodies elections held its first meeting at the NTR Bhavan.

The party president, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, constituted the panel headed by Dr. Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, MP, in the wake of the party's not so impressive showing in the recent polls to identify factors responsible for it and to recommend corrective measures.

Mr. Naidu, who attended the meeting briefly, said Mr. C. C. Venkataramudu, MLA from Hindupur, would be added as Rayalaseema was not represented in the five-man panel. Other members are Messrs G. S. S. Shivaji, P. Ramulu, R. Prakash Reddy and D. Umamaheswara Rao.

It is learnt that the committee will analyse voting figures and other data with the 1999 Assembly poll results as the benchmark to see where the party stood after the local bodies elections. It will analyse mandal-level data, but its report to the party president will have Assembly constituency-wise analysis.

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Section  : Southern States
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