Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President MK Stalin on Monday described his hour-long meeting with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly known as KCR, as a courtesy call, PTI reported. Unidentified officials said Rao visited Stalin at his residence in Chennai’s Alwarpet neighbourhood to discuss the possibility of forming an alternative federal front.
The Telangana chief minister has not yet issued a statement about the meeting.
Rao has been pushing for a a non-Congress and non-Bharatiya Janata Party formation at the Centre for some time. He had reportedly met Stalin last year to discuss the same. However, the DMK formed an alliance with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.
In December 2018, Stalin had proposed that Congress President Rahul Gandhi could be the joint Opposition alliance’s prime ministerial candidate. He had to defend his decision after Opposition leaders objected to it, saying the decision would be taken after the elections.
Meanwhile, the Congress played down the possibility of a third front, Hindustan Times reported. “There is no possibility for the third front given the present political situation in the country,” Tamil Nadu Congress President KS Alagiri said. “The very idea has no political currency and validity.”
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is in power in the southern state, claimed that the Stalin-led party was being opportunistic. “By blackmailing the Congress, Stalin is sending feelers to the BJP,” claimed AIADMK leader D Jayakumar. “The DMK is seeking five plum ministerial berths at the Centre. It is nothing new for the DMK to playing double game.”
BJP state President Tamilisai Soundarrajan asked Stalin why he did not meet the media after the meeting. “Why was he shying away?” she questioned.
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