TRS to reach out to TMC, SP, BSP to pitch federal front idea

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti would reach out to the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party to promote its idea of forging a non-Congress, non-BJP federal front of regional parties, a key TRS leader said Thursday.

TRS deputy floor leader in the Lok Sabha, B Vinod Kumar, said his party has already "sold the idea" of a united front to the regional parties.

He dismissed the perception in some sections of the Congress and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) camp that the efforts of TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in this direction may split the anti-BJP votes and benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Our thinking on this federal front is: All the regional parties who are powerful in their respective states should come together and their bargaining power will increase with either the Congress or the BJP only if we are united," the Karimnagar Lok Sabha member told PTI.

"Otherwise, they -- Congress and BJP -- will deal with each political party in each state and dictate terms to other regional political parties," Kumar argued.

Regional parties should unite and "collectively bargain" with political parties -- in post-poll scenario, he said.

Both the BJP and the Congress are unable to "stomach" this TRS idea to bring about unity among regional parties and are indulging in propaganda -- "The Congress says we (TRS) is with the BJP, the BJP says we (TRS) are with the Congress," he said.

"Our concept of a federal front is that all the regional political parties who have their stakes in their state should come united, we should come united, and we should think and decide whom to support (post-election)," Kumar said.

Rao had few months ago met TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, DMK president M K Stalin and JD(S) leaders H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy to promote his idea of a non-Congress, non-BJP federal front. But the initiative was largely seen as a non-starter by critics.

When asked about how the TRS would take the issue forward as many regional parties have either aligned with the Congress-led UPA or the BJP-led NDA, he said: "We have already sold this idea. Already those who are with the BJP are thinking on these terms (federal front) and also the UPA partners they are happy with this (TRS) idea."
Asked if the TRS would reach out to Banerjee, Yadav and Mayawati again, Kumar said: "They should understand properly (the concept of a federal front). We have already briefed them earlier. We will once again tell them."