• No, don’t blame the laptop, it was a revolt of rising expectations’ (IE, May 12) by Sanjaya Baru is a balanced analysis. It is true that Chandrababu Naidu focussed more on urban development but, at the same time, rural areas were not totally neglected. Rural infrastructure was improved more than ever before. We can see better roads and awareness in the villages now. It is impossible to develop rural areas without proper funds which can be generated by developing urban areas. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy will find it impossible to deliver on his promises without economic reforms. — Sekhar On e-mail • The defeat of the TDP is the result of lopsided developmental programmes of Chandrababu Naidu, completely ignoring the villagers and illiterate people of Andhra Pradesh. The preferences over the past nine years were all urban-orientated, pleasing only about 20 per cent of the population. Let us hope that the Congress demonstrates a balanced approach, and keeps the common man (especially the farmer) at the focus. — F.S.K. Barar On e-mail • Chandrababu Naidu’s arrogance had made him close his eyes to the suicide deaths of farmers in his state. — Dasratharam M. Reddy On e-mail On statehood • The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), the Congress’s pre-poll ally in Andhra Pradesh, could emerge as a key player in government formation at the Centre. The price it demands is the formation of a separate Telangana state. The TRS president has made it clear that establishing a separate Telangana state is his first priority and the party will support any alliance at the Centre which promises Telangana. In future similar demands may be made for the formation of a Vidharbha state from Maharashtra, and more may follow soon. Already, many states have been carved out from bigger states and the time has come to set up another state reorganisation commission to look into the demands of various regions, and their feasibility. — V.S. Venkatavaradan Salem The real campaign • All things said and done, one cannot help being stunned by the political maturity of the electorate. If the current exit polls are anything to go by, Indians have sent a strong message to the BJP and its leaders. We cannot be swayed by ad campaigns. It is a clear message that hobnobbing with celebrities and speaking smartly on television shows will not work. Real work in infrastructural development and job creation are the key. If the BJP and its pre-poll allies don’t make it to the halfway mark, they should sit in the opposition. This would greatly enhance the stature of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. — Surin Usgaonkar On e-mail Strange silence • It is a shame that the Red Cross has admitted that it knew about the goings-on in the Al-Ghraib prison cells in Iraq all along. The Red Cross is an independent organisation which must act to prevent such despicable violations. Instead, it did not put this information in the public domain. — G. Anand Mumbai
