Known for his shrewd politicking, Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has extended his stay in New Delhi by two more days, deciding to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.
KCR, who was supposed to return to Hyderabad by Friday afternoon, managed to get an appointment with the Prime Minister later in the day.
His MPs’ team did a lot of backroom negotiation to secure the appointment of Modi at a short notice. He would be meeting Shah on Saturday.
Before meeting the Prime Minister, KCR will also meet Union Jal Sakthi minister Gajendra Singh Shekawat to discuss the latest Krishna water disputes with Andhra Pradesh and also the recent Gazette notification aimed at bringing all the projects on Krishna and Godavari rivers under the central purview.
The laying of foundation stone for the TRS office in New Delhi has led to the talk that KCR is planning to enter national politics and might be spending considerable time in the national capital in the subsequent years.
But in the latest scheme of things of the opposition parties in the country, KCR has not found a place. He was not made party to the discussions among the non-BJP parties held by Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee or the meeting held by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Apparently, these opposition parties still see KCR with suspicion because of his alleged understanding with the Narendra Modi government.
Taking advantage of it, the Narendra Modi government, too, appears to be going soft towards KCR, as it requires additional support from parties like the TRS to implement its agenda.
“That is precisely the reason why KCR could get the appointment of Modi and Shah so easily. It shows there is definitely some kind of understanding between the TRS and the Centre,” sources said.