Panaji, May 19 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa Tuesday alleged that biased coverage by some national television news channels was a crucial factor that led to the party's poor showing in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
Former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, the leader of opposition in the state assembly, told reporters, that some channels were indulging in 'a virtual publicity campaign for the Congress party'.
'They were fully campaigning for the Congress in these elections,' Parrikar said, while trying to analyse the party's unflattering performance in Goa.
While BJP's Shripad Naik won one of the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa, his lead was clipped by his nearest rival by almost 50,000 votes as compared to the votes polled in the 2004 general elections.
This is not the first time the BJP in Goa has lashed out at the electronic media for its allegedly 'anti-BJP' stance.
At a function organised by the 'Friends of BJP' here during the run-up to the polls, Parrikar had demanded that the balance-sheets of major news channels be probed for profits generated from an extensive campaign sponsored by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
'National news channels, which were in the red, are now suddenly showing profits,' Parrikar had alleged.
At the same function, former information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also alleged that English news channels had a bias in favour of the Congress.
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