KCR meets Mamata Banerjee as part of ‘unification of forces’ against Congress, BJP
Congress on Monday had accused Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of doing “politics of division” and of helping the BJP by proposing a non-Congress national front of other parties.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao has renewed his efforts to build a third front of non-Congress, non-BJP parties.
“I met the Odisha chief minister. I met Didi, she had called me to congratulate after I became the chief minister. I am here for Kalimata darshan and to take blessings of Goddess Kali and Didi as well,” KCR said, after an hourlong meeting with Banerjee at the state secretariat. He called the meeting as “pleasant”.
#NewsAlert – K Chandrashekar Rao (@TelanganaCMO) pushes for a 3rd front, meets Mamata and @Naveen_Odisha. KCR is also likely to meet @yadavakhilesh and Mayawati. #RoadTo2019 #ElectionsWithNews18 | @Sougata_Mukh with more details pic.twitter.com/Hytj8tM3SP
— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 25, 2018
“If you talk of exclusion and do not want to ally with those who want to ally with the Congress, then you are doing ‘politics of division’ and you want to help the ruling party… I don’t think other parties will get trapped in this,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters when asked about the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief’s proposal.
“You will see that the Congress will emerge victorious after it contests elections with many other parties,” he said.
KCR visited Kolkata on Tuesday, a day after meeting Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneshwar, and held talks with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Speaking to reporters later, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief said he was meeting regional leaders as part of a “unification of forces” and that his “mission” was to have a “non-Congress, non-BJP” alliance in power.
On the discussions, the Telangana CM said: “When two political leaders meet, they discuss issues of mutual interest and national politics. Our dialogues will continue, and very shortly we will come up with a concrete plan and let you know.”
“I will continue to pursue my mission,” KCR said. “This is not a small thing that decisions can be taken up across the table. We are discussing things. Something concrete will come out of that, but for that you have to wait for some time. The dialogue continues. And things will happen soon.”
KCR needs to regain confidence of his probable allies, as he chose not to vote in the no-confidence motion brought by the Telugu Desam Party against the NDA government. Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu is also making efforts to form a non-BJP alliance that includes the Congress.
