Bengaluru: After a false start, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, or KCR as he is known, is set to meet Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M.K. Stalin in Chennai Monday as part of his efforts to cobble together a non-BJP, non-Congress federal front.
KCR was scheduled to meet Stalin on 7 May but the meeting was cancelled at the last minute on 6 May, with the DMK claiming that Stalin was busy campaigning for the 19 May by-elections in four Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies.
This time too, there appears to be little enthusiasm for the meeting within the DMK. Sources in the party said that it was largely a courtesy call as Rao, the chief of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), is also the chief minister of a neighbouring state and it would be difficult not to accept his offer to meet.
“The DMK has pledged support to the Congress and our leader Stalin will use this meeting as an opportunity to convince Chandrashekhar Rao to support the Congress alliance,” DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai told The Print.
The DMK has a pre-poll alliance with the Congress and its chief, Stalin, has already publicly announced that he supports Rahul Gandhi as prime minister.
“KCR wants to play a role in the possibility of a coalition government at the Centre,” said Chennai-based political analyst Aazhi Senthil Nathan. “The DMK’s stand is clear that it is with the Congress, so any move by KCR will be perceived as one benefitting him or his Federal Front and nothing more.”
KCR touched down in Tamil Nadu Sunday, a day ahead of his meeting with Stalin, and visited a few temples in Tiruchirapalli.
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KCR’s federal front
KCR has doubled his efforts to form a federal front as he is convinced that the Lok Sabha results on 23 May will throw up a hung verdict, allowing regional players such as his TRS, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) and H.D. Kumaraswamy’s Janata Dal (Secular) to play a defining role in government formation.
Prior to his Tamil Nadu visit, KCR had met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on 7 May.
Vijayan, also a CPI Politburo member, termed the meeting as a “highly significant” one, adding that the two of them discussed the importance of regional parties staying united.
Right after his Stalin meeting, KCR is expected to call on Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy. He has a long-standing friendship with the JD(S) leader and hopes to cash in on it.
A meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also on the cards while the YSR Congress’ Jagan Mohan Reddy is already onboard Rao’s plans.
There are now indications that KCR, once considered close to the BJP, may change his stance on the Congress. Hyderabad-based political analyst Palwai Raghavendra Reddy told ThePrint that KCR has been sending feelers to the Congress.
“He is doing this as he wants to be part of the next government at the centre. There is a lot at stake for Telangana as the state has just been formed and needs a lot of support from the Centre,” Reddy said. “If the government at the centre does not support Telangana, the state stands to lose on multiple fronts. That’s is why KCR is keeping all his options open.”
KCR’s team, however, said that he will not participate in the opposition parties’ joint meeting in the national capital on 21 May, which will also be attended by his arch-rival N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telegu Desam Party.