The Telangana Chief Minister said that very soon they will come out with a concrete plan for the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Kolkata: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee and said efforts for a non-BJP and non-Congress alliance will continue.
He further said that very soon they will come out with a concrete plan for the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Rao, who met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat here, described it as a “very pleasant one”.
He said that “discussions (on Federal Front) will continue”.
The TRS chief came to meet Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee a day after he met his Odisha counterpart and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, another strong regional leader.
Fresh from victory in his home state Telangana, Rao is meeting prominent leaders to provide an alternative to the Congress and the BJP ahead of the 2019 election.
From eastern metropolis as per an earlier official release he would go to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and latter to BSP chief Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav among others.
“Discussions with didi is always there. When two political leaders meet, they definitely discuss matters of mutual interest and matters of national interest.
“We had a very pleasant discussion. We will continue our discussion. There is a dialogue which I had started yesterday. This is a unification of forces across the nation. There is a dialogue I started yesterday. I met Odisha’s Chief Minister yesterday and today I met didi,” Rao told reporters.
“Our dialogue will continue. Very shortly we will come out with a concrete plan,” he said recollecting about getting congratulatory call from Banerjee after he was elected as the Telangana Chief Minister for the second time.
“I came to visit the Kalighat (famous Kali temple in Kolkata) and I thought of meeting didi and seek her blessings,” he said.
Asked about his mission on non-BJP and non-Congress alliance, KCR said,” I will continue to do with my efforts. It is the mission of KCR, I will continue in my mission.”
With general election not very far, efforts to cobble up ties among parties have gained momentum.
Among anti-BJP bloc, while some leaders like N Chandrababu Naidu and DMK’s M K Stalin are trying to forge a broad coalition including Congress, others like TRS chief and Mamata Banerjee are strong votaries of Federal front of regional parties.
Mamata Banerjee whose state has 42 Lok Sabha seats has also called a grand rally in Kolkata on January 19 of opposition parties.
Odisha has a total of 21 Lok Sabha seats while Telangana carved out of Andhra Pradesh has 17 seats.
Stalin’s “Rahul-for-PM” proposal recently was not taken kindly by TMC and other parties who advocated that leadership issue of the opposition camp should be decided after the Parliamentary polls.
After meeting his BJD counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Sunday, the TRS president had emphasised a “dire need” for unification of regional parties to provide an alternative to the Congress and the BJP ahead of next year elections.
Both the chief ministers had a detailed discussion on national issues, including the need for “better friendship among regional parties”, Patnaik said.
“This is just the beginning of a dialogue… We will meet again and discuss how to take things forward,” Rao said. – PTI