Federal Front will be game changer: KCR's daughter

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is confident that the proposed Federal Front will emerge as a strong alternative political platform before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and will be a "game changer", a party leader said on Tuesday.

The formation of the Federal Front -- an anti-BJP and anti-Congress platform mooted by TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao -- is under process, said his daughter and party MP K. Kavitha.

"Our country needs an alternative political platform which is non-BJP and non-Congress. The Federal Front is an idea to get into an alliance wherein both these parties did not perform to the expectations of the people," she told reporters at the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC) here.

Kavitha, the first woman MP from Telangana who represents Nizamabad, said that the party supremo was in talks with like-minded people and the front agenda will soon be put before the public.

"The TRS as a party does not believe in north-south divide. KCR has reached out to not just southern leaders but also Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav as well. The situation and equation will determine who all are going to be part of this platform," she said.

On TRS's equation with the BJP, Kavitha said that the TRS has maintained cordial relations with the Centre and not with an individual party in power.

"KCR believes that the state should always have a working relationship with the central government. We are the youngest state (in India) and we have a working relationship with the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will continue because it is essential," Kavitha said.

Asked about extending support to any national party, especially the BJP, Kavitha clarified that TRS stands as a strong regional party and won't go for coalition with either of the two big political parties.

"Why should we be close to the BJP? We have always been at arms length from both the BJP and the Congress."

As for KCR's presence at the swearing-in of H.D. Devegowda as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on Wednesday, Kavitha said the Telangana Chief Minister has already met him in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister's office in Hyderabad confirmed that Rao will not be able to attend the ceremony due to some official engagements. However, informed sources said, Rao did not want to share the dias with Congress leaders and thus met Kumaraswamy a day earlier.

--IANS

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