After a meeting with his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik here on Sunday evening, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao expressed the hope that both of them would come together again to take forward their talks on formation of a federal front comprising regional parties.
Mr. Rao, who is on a mission to mobilise support for the front, landed here by a special flight, along with his family members and some TRS leaders. He will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Monday evening after an overnight stay here and visit to Konark and Puri Jagannath temples. He will proceed to New Delhi in the night.
To meet again
“We will certainly meet again to take the talks forward. We need to talk to some more people. You will see the developments in future,” he said, addressing the media jointly with Mr. Patnaik after their half-an-hour interaction.
‘Country needs change’
“It is certain that the country needs a change and a qualitative change for which the dialogue has just begun. We are doing our efforts. Nothing concrete has come out now. I think something would emerge,” Mr. Rao said.
Mr. Rao carried on, “There is a dire need for unification of regional parties in the country. There has to be an alternative force to Congress and BJP.”
On his part, Mr. Patnaik said, “We are two regional parties. We had discussed several things, including furthering friendship among like-minded parties. We will take talks forward.”
When asked about if there was talk of any understanding between TRS and the Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal for next general elections, Mr. Patnaik said, “as far as Lok Sabha election is concerned, we have not thought that far. Let’s see.”
“These days, a big joke is going on in the country. Mr. Narendra Modi accuses us of being ‘B’ team of Congress and Sonia Gandhiji and Rahul Gandhiji brand us as ‘B’ team of BJP,” said Mr. Rao on the charges against him of spoiling attempts at forming a Congress-led anti-BJP front in the country ahead of elections.
Mr. Rao was welcomed by Mr. Patnaik at the latter’s residence at Nabin Niwas here. The Telangana Chief Minister greeted his counterpart by presenting him an ‘Ikkat’ shawl and a replica of Charminar.
Slogans in support
Santosh Patnaik writes from Visakhapatnam:
Earlier in the day, on arrival in a special flight here along with his wife Sobha and close aides, Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao drove to Sri Sarada Peetham and sought the blessings of peetham head Swami Swaroopanandendra. At the INS Dega airport and the peetham, scores of his supporters raised slogans in his support.
First pollitical yatra
This was his first political yatra, after leading the TRS to a spectacular victory in the recently-held Telangana Assembly elections.
At the peetham, Mr Rao performed special puja. He left for Bhubaneswar after taking lunch at the peetham.
Mr. Rao’s initiative assumes importance in the backdrop of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s decision to pitch hard for a Congress-led front as an alternative to the NDA.