Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao today met with his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee to discuss a non-BJP and non-Congress third front ahead of 2019 elections.
Stressing on the need for an 'alternate force', Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao today met with his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee to discuss a non-BJP and non-Congress third front ahead of 2019 elections.
The Telangana CM has been leading the charge to form a third front - a broad alliance of non-BJP and non-Congress parties - to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 general elections.
In an hour-long meeting in Kolkata today, the two leaders discussed the prospects of a "front for people of India."
"People are thinking before 2019 there will be another front. Let me clarify that this front will be for people of India. This won't be a mere alliance of a few political parties, this will be for the people. There is a need for alternate force," KCR said after the meeting.
When asked what would he do if the Congress decides to give them an outside support, KCR said, "You are thinking in the routine political model. The agenda we are proposing is different from the routine political model. This will be on people's agenda."
On the question of who will lead the alliance, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief said, "It will be a collective leadership, it will be a federal leadership."
Banerjee, who is also in talks with the Congress for a joint anti-NDA front, termed her meeting with Telangana CM a "good beginning."
"It is a good beginning. I think politics is a continuous process, whatever we have discussed is aimed towards development of the country," she said.
"Politics throws at you situations where you have to work with different people. I believe in politics," the TMC chief said.
Rao fled to Kolkata today to meet and discuss with Banerjee the prospects of a third front.
He had recently said a non-Congress and non-BJP front should be formed in the country, as he called for a "qualitative change" in politics and had also announced that he was ready to take on the mantle of leading a political front.
"Ham aap se ek-mat hain. Aap ke saath rahenge" (I am in agreement with you. I will work with you)," Banerjee had told Rao.
Alleging that successive governments ruled by both the Congress and BJP at the Centre have miserably failed to ensure the development of the country, Rao had earlier said he would talk with all like-minded parties and leaders for creating an agenda for the country's growth.
The Chief Minister's Office had also earlier said Rao is chalking out a programme to hold series of meetings at all India level with various organisations, associations and individuals shortly.
(With PTI inputs)
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