Telangana chief minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao, has assured HD Kumaraswamy that he could continue as chief minister in Karnataka well after the Lok Sabha results on May 23.
Bengaluru: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has assured HD Kumaraswamy, chief minister of Karnataka that his government is not under threat provided that BJP does not gain the majority.
Chandrasekhar Rao reportedly told JD(S) chief Deve Gowda that he will try to establish a southern front with local leaders such as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin and Jaganmohan Reddy of the YSR Congress party (YSRCP), who are expected to win a fairly large number of seats.
Chandrasekhar Rao recently established contact with Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan too.
Gowda is believed to have maintained friendly relations with MK Stalin’s father M Karunanidhi and Jaganmohan Reddy’s father YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
Chandrasekhar Rao has been trying to establish a non-BJP, non-Congress front at the Centre. Both Congress and the BJP do not have a good chance of winning in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh since they are dominated by regional parties, he said. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), DMK and the YSRCP are expected to win majorities in the polls in these three states of Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, he added.
While Congress is TRS’s main rival in Telangana, sources seem to suggest that TRS’s intention is to align with the UPA post the results, which has come as a shock to many.
K Chandasekhar Rao has assured the leaders of Janata Dal (Secular) that he would work towards the welfare of the regional parties.
Meanwhile, on May 8, the Congress Legislature Party leader and chairman of the co-ordination panel of the coalition government in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah accused the JD(S) of entering into a secret pact with BJP during Assembly elections, ensuring the latter wins 104 seats. These statements have led to Kumaraswamy seeking divine intervention while maintaining a low profile with respect to the media.
It remains to be seen if this assurance of the TRS leader will help Kumaraswamy in the long run or not.
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