New Delhi:
In a bid to invite the YSR Congress Party to be a part of the proposed Federal Front, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president KT Rama Rao met YSR Congress Party President YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Rama Rao, who is the son of Telangana Chief Minister and TRS President K Chandrashekhar Rao, also known as KCR, along with some other leaders of the party will hold talks with Jaganmohan Reddy, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, Telangana Rashtra Samithi sources said as per media reports. KCR had floated the idea of a Federal Front as an alternative to both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.
This is the first directs talks between the two parties since the idea of a Federal Front was floated. Earlier, the TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister KCR had held talks about the proposed a non-BJP, non-Congress alternative with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Janata Dal (United) leader and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and DMK leader MK Stalin.
Hyderabad: Telangana Minister and TRS leader KT Rama Rao meets YSR Congress Party Chief Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy pic.twitter.com/SJgDA9mSG4
— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2019
After a landslide victory in the Telangana Assembly election in December, KCR intensified his efforts to cobble together the Federal Front.
Read More | KCR meets Mamata Banerjee over non-BJP, non-Congress front, says 'dialogue will continue'
TRS leaders are also likely to discuss with Jagan the possibility of their working together in Andhra Pradesh to defeat the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the ensuing elections in the neighbouring state.
"A non-Congress front is my mission. I will continue my effort. This is not a small matter. Wait for the right time. The dialogue continues," KCR had said after meeting Mamata Banerjee.
Early this year, the Telangana CM had met a bunch of Opposition leaders, including DMK chief MK Stalin, former prime minister and JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda to seek their support in stitching a Federal Front minus BJP and Congress to "bring about a qualitative change" in the national politics.
He had alleged that both the Congress and the BJP have failed the country as they could not meet people’s expectations even after 70 years of Independence.
Also Read | Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao to meet Mamata Banerjee, Odisha CM
At that time, Mamata Banerjee had expressed her reservations about keeping the Congress out of the alliance. At the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, most of the regional leaders had shown a glimpse of unity by sharing the state with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
However, things changed after DMK president MK Stalin’s recent proposal to project Rahul Gandhi as the Opposition’s prime ministerial face. The proposal irked several Opposition leaders, including Mayawati, Akhilesh and Mamata Banerjee, and they all rejected the idea, saying it was too early to decide that.
(With agency inputs)
