In Bid to Forge Federal Front, KCR’s Son KT Rama Rao Meets YSR Congress Chief Jaganmohan Reddy

Rao deputed the party’s working president and his son K T Rama Rao and other senior leaders to hold parleys with Jaganmohan Reddy.

Hyderabad: Continuing Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s efforts to reach out to regional parties to float a consortium of regional outfits, sans the Congress and the BJP, his son K T Rama Rao on Wednesday met YRS Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

Rao deputed the party’s working president and his son K T Rama Rao and other senior leaders to hold parleys with the leader of the opposition in Andhra Pradesh, Jaganmohan Reddy.

KCR, as he is popularly known, had met Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on January 10 as part of his efforts towards forging a ‘non-Congress, non-BJP’ federal front of regional parties.

Rao had also met Odisha Chief Minister, Biju Janata Dal (BJP) chief Naveen Patnaik and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav seeking to drum up support for the federal front.

The move is seen by many as a counter to the proposed Congress-led grand alliance, which is being spearheaded by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu.

If KCR succeeds in forging a third front, the 2019 Lok Sabha elections may see a three-way fight – BJP, grand alliance (mahagathbandhan) and the third front.

However, it is yet to be seen who joins the proposed grand alliance and who joins the Third Front. Some of the party leaders who KCR wants to meet have already pledged their support to the grand alliance. But in recent swearing-in ceremonies of three Congress chief ministers, Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav did not turn for the event raising speculation that all was not well in the grand alliance.