Hyderabad: Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has drawn strong criticism from state Congress leaders as he works on building a national-level front to oppose the BJP, with the Congress leaders alleging that Mr Rao’s focus on “pro-Congress regional parties” is effectively intended to weaken the Congress.
Regarding the proposed third front, Mr Rao has so far held meetings with Trinamul chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam working president M.K. Stalin. In the first week of May, Mr Rao will meet Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
The crux of the Congress leaders’ allegation is that all these parties are pro-UPA, headed by the Congress.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who has proposed the formation of a new pan-Indian political front to oppose the BJP, appears to be playing a clever mind game to attract pro-Congress regional parties into the fold.
Following his discussion with the pro-Congress Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Chennai on Sunday, Mr Rao said, “We are not ruling out either the possibility of alliance with the Congress, or deserting it.”
Questioning this statement, a senior political leader has asked how, if the proposed new front is both anti-BJP and anti-Congress at the national level, it will form an alliance with the Congress. He has added that Mr Rao’s statement is probably intended to “please the DMK”.
