According to party circles, the CM during a telephonic talk with the President is understood to have registered his protest and described the President's decision as ``unjust''. The Telugu Desam Party chief feared that giving a long rope to Sonia Gandhi would lead to further political instability and speculations particularly because the Congress was engineering splits in political parties.

Naidu also spoke to Central ministers Pramod Mahajan and George Fernandes and assured them that there was no change in TDP's policy towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Leaders of several other parties also spoke with the Chief Minister.Meanwhile, party politburo members and MPs discussed the Delhi developments with Chandrababu. The TDP chief ruled out the possibility of supporting aLeft-Front led government. Chandrababu held the view that even if Jyoti Basu emerged as a consensus candidate for prime minister's post, supporting any government which had the support of Congress would harm TDP's interest.Speaking to mediapersons later, TDP spokesman Ummareddy Venkateswarlu said that the party has decided to appeal to the President to find an immediate solution. However, he hastened to add that the party did not feel that the President had committed a mistake by giving some more time to Sonia Gandhi.Reiterating yesterday's stand, he wanted the issue of election of a prime minister referred to the Parliament and wanted it to be decided on the floor of the House.

To a question whether TDP would extend support to Jyoti Basu if he emerged as a consensus candidate for prime minister's post, Ummareddy maintained that the question was ``hypothetical'' as several names were being floated. "The proposed third front should take a shape first. There are several possible permutations andcombinations. We will take a decision after a clear picture emerges," he added.

Reacting strongly on the Congress party's failure to muster enough support, the TDP leader said that Congress was yet to come out with its view on the third front. What role would Congress and its allies, who pulled down the BJP government, play in providing an alternate government?, he questioned.Ummareddy, however, evaded a direct reply when asked whether the President should call Atal Behari Vajpayee to form the government. He said: ``The situation is very fluid. With so many contradictions among political parties, the President has to find a satisfactory solution to the crisis in order to save the country's crumbling economy''.

Stating that the nation was not ready for mid-term elections, the TDP spokesman feared that the outcome may not be different if elections were held again.