Bengaluru: The proposal to form a “federal front” for the coming 2019 general elections seems to have gathered steam in the last few weeks. Nationwide regional parties have put up plans to unite and give the people an option of a non-BJP and non-Congress alternative. Taking the first step to achieve this, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is presently in Bengaluru today, held a meet with Janata Dal (Secular) or JDS chief and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.

Mr KCR left for Bengaluru from his ruling capital around 10 am this morning, held a meet with Mr Deve Gowda at his residence to discuss the current political situation and about how to form a “federal front” ahead of 2019.

“Both the leaders are expected to discuss the present political scenario in the country,” a close aide of Mr Rao had told the news agency yesterday. He also said that the meeting would last a couple of hours and that Mr Rao would return to Hyderabad by the evening the same day.

Mr Rao will also hold meetings with Mr Deve Gowda’s son and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who heads Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), had last month discussed with West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamta Banerjee in Kolkata for the same reason. After his meeting with Ms Banerjee in Delhi, he had said “the process for creation of the federal front has begun”, and he will now hold talks with all like-minded parties.

Mamata Banerjee has also aired here views for a “federal front” which excludes the Congress. She said that the main aim of the “federal front” will be to defeat the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections at the centre with a “one-to-one” fight in all the states by uniting all regional parties.

Last month Chief minister of Telangana had said that he is “keen to participate in national politics to bring about a change”. Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, he had said: “There is a need for qualitative change in the national politics…There is a serious need. People are vexed now. No qualitative change is seen by people even after 70 years of democracy…China developed in less than three decades. What has both Congress and BJP done in all these years?”

He went on to say, “People are looking for a change. Can we expect something new to happen if Congress comes to power after BJP? It can be a third front or any front…Are we not part of the country? Discussions are going on. There is no secret about it.”

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