KCR preps payback to TDP’s Naidu, sends son to reach out to Jagan Reddy

K Chandrashekar Rao has intensified his efforts to form a national alliance for 2019 after the TRS rode back to power in Telangana in December last year.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao’s (KCR) son and the party’s working president K T Rama Rao (KTR) held discussions with the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress (YSRC) party’s president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on the formation of a Federal Front on Wednesday.

This is the first time that the leaders of the two parties have met since KCR floated the idea of Federal Front as an alternative to both the BJP and the Congress.

The two-hour meeting, which took place at Reddy’s residence in Banjara Hills was attended by senior leaders from both parties.

KTR said he had preliminary discussions with Reddy over the need to form a Federal Front of regional parties to bring about a qualitative change in politics. “For the last few months, our party president (KCR) has been meeting leaders of various regional parties including Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee and others to evolve a consensus... he will also go to Andhra Pradesh to have detailed discussions with Jagan. He will invite Jagan to be a part of the proposed Federal Front,” KTR said.

 

Reddy said the two discussed various issues including injustice being meted out to Andhra Pradesh in fulfilling the promises made in AP Reorganisation Act and denial of special category status to the state. “If MPs from both the Telugu states could bring pressure on the Centre, we can achieve our goals...,” he said.

A TRS leader familiar with the development said the two also discussed the political situation in Andhra Pradesh and the prospects of various parties in the coming assembly elections. The TRS working president assured support to the YSRC to ensure the defeat of the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party.

Senior TDP leader and Andhra irrigation minister Devineni Umamaheshwar Rao said the proposed Federal Front was nothing but a “Modi Front” comprising KCR, Jagan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Senior Congress leader N Tulasi Reddy said he wasn’t surprised by the meeting. The two parties are joined at the hip, he suggested.