KCR to resume efforts to unite non-BJP bloc

With the Election Commission issuing a schedule for the Presidential Election on Thursday, the TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is gearing up to play a key role in bringing regional parties together against the BJPled NDA candidate in the next 20 days, according to sources in the ruling party.

As the last date to file nominations is just 20 days away, Rao is learnt to have decided to resume tours and meetings with the leaders of regional parties this week to build a consensus among them on fielding a joint candidate of opposition parties to take on the National Democratic Alliance.

Prior to the issuance of poll notification, the Chief Minister had already visited a few regional party leaders and discussed this Presidential poll issue. He also spoke to Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over phone earlier on this issue.

The Trinamool Congress, DMK, Nationalist Congress Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata DalSecular

among others are keen on fielding a joint opposition candidate against the NDA, said the sources, adding that Rao will try to build a consensus on the candidate to be fielded.

For the first time, the TRS supremo is giving utmost significance to the Presidential election as he considers it will serve as a platform for the opposition unity in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to take on the NDA and would also help him to project himself as a national leader.

Rao renewed his efforts to forge an anti-BJP front from November last after the BJP went on an overdrive against his government after its victory in the Huzurabad Assembly byelection. The BJP turned the heat on the TRS by taking up protest programmes on various issues and started projecting itself as an alternative to the TRS for the Assembly polls scheduled for 2023.

Rao also stepped up attacks on the BJP-led government at the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing them of resorting to ‘divisive and hate politics’ in the name of religion and adopting antipoor, anti-farmer, antilabour policies etc. He also sat on a dharna in Hyderabad and Delhi against the Central government over the paddy procurement issue.

The TRS chief also pitched for an urgent need for an ‘alternative agenda’ for the country and declared that he will play a key role in national politics to achieve this goal.