Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President MK Stalin on Tuesday ruled out the need for an alternative front, without the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Congress, ANI reported. But, he added, a final decision can only be taken after the Lok Sabha elections conclude and votes are counted on May 23.
Stalin’s comments came a day after he met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Stalin stuck to his description of the meeting as a courtesy call. “He [Rao] did not come to form alliances,” Stalin said. “He came to Tamil Nadu to offer prayers in various temples. He wanted to meet me as a courtesy call. That is all.”
Unidentified officials had said Rao visited Stalin at his residence in Chennai’s Alwarpet area to discuss the possibility of forming an alternative federal front.
The Telangana chief minister has not yet issued a statement about the meeting. Rao had visited the Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Trichy before meeting Stalin.
Rao has been pushing for a non-Congress and non-Bharatiya Janata Party formation at the Centre for some time. He had reportedly met Stalin last year also to discuss this. 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.
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