Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh on Friday ruled out the possibility of dissolving the state Assembly and going in for mid-term elections along with the Lok Sabha polls. The chief minister announced this in the Vidhan Sabha following speculation that dissolution of the Assembly was on the cards. Singh asserted that his government was stable and there was no question of dissolving the Assembly. ``My government is firmly saddled and will complete its term without any hitch. The state does not require mid-term polls'', he said.

For the last few days, rumours that the chief minister might recommend dissolution of the Assembly and go in for elections along with the Lok Sabha election polls were in the air.

Gowda-led JD to join hands with like-minded parties

Former Union finance minister and senior Janata Dal leader Madhu Dandavate said on Friday that his party would join hands with like-minded parties, keep equidistance from the Congress and theBharatiya Janata Party and prevent the BJP-led NDA from coming to power at the Centre. Dandavate told a newsconference that his group, which enjoys majority support from party workers, and led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda would be able to retain the party symbol and get recognised as the `real' Janata Dal.``I hope, the verdict of the Election Eommission on August 3 will go in our favour'', he said.

TDP to extend issue-based support to BJP at Centre

Telugu Desam supremo and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday declared that his party would extend issue-based support to the BJP-led coalition, if it was voted back to power. Talking to reporters, he expressed confidence that the BJP-led alliance under Prime Minister A B Vajpayee would romp home in the coming elections. The Congress, which had the "dubious distinction" of destabilising democratically-elected governments at the Centre, would not win even 100 seats, he claimed.

Naidu parried a question on thepossibility of a tie-up with the BJP in the coming Assembly and Lok sabha elections in the state.

Triangular poll alliance in AP

NTR-TDP, Mahajan Front, CPI-ML & MCPI, to jointly fight the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. This was announced at a joint press conference by NTR-TDP president Lakshmi Parvathi, Mahajan Front president Krishna Madiga, M-CPI president Omkar and CPI-ML president B N Reddy. They said discussions would be held with CPI-M And CPI leaders also to broadbase the alliance. Anna-TDP general secretary Tulsi Reddy told reporters at another press conference that his party had come to an electoral understanding with the Bahujana Samaj Party (BSP) president Kanshiram. It would be holding talks with the CPI and CPI(M) Also.