A Federal Front could be quietly shaping up at Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao's camp office in Hyderabad ahead of the national election in 2024.
On Tuesday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav came visiting from Bihar, along with other senior leaders. Visuals from that meeting told a story of congeniality and efforts to build mutual trust and respect among leaders of regional parties who hope to join forces against national players, mainly the BJP.
Mr Rao or KCR even dialled Tejashwi's father and RJD veteran Lalu Yadav, not just to inquire about his health but to also to urge him to return to active politics and take on an important role in national politics, emphasising that his experience and following would be invaluable to any new front.
On his part, Lalu Yadav is said to have congratulated KCR for his efforts to forge an alliance of secular and democratic forces towards what he calls a "BJP-mukt Bharat (BJP-free India)". He reportedly reminded KCR that he had declared his support for a separate Telangana, and also spoke about KCR's leadership and struggle to make it a reality.
Tejashwi Yadav was flown in to Hyderabad by a special flight along with former Bihar minister Abdul Baari Siddiqui, and former lawmakers Sunil Singh and Bhola Yadav. Sources say the leaders agreed that it was important to chalk out a detailed strategy to come together, join hands and defeat the BJP.
Also present at the meeting were KCR's son KT Rama Rao -- Telangana's municipal administration and IT minister - and his nephew and Rajya Sabha MP Joginapally Santosh.
On Sunday, KCR had met national leaders of the CPI and CPM separately. The left leaders were in town for a party convention.
Last month, KCR and his family visited Tamil Nadu and met with Chief Minister MK Stalin at his home in Chennai. KCR had gone on a pilgrimage but the political meeting was an important add-on.
KCR had made a similar effort to forge an anti-BJP, anti-Congress front in 2018, before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when he hired a private plane and went on a tour across the country for consultations with various leaders. But a grouping did not really take off.
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