A few months ago, it was Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who kicked up a nation-wide debate on floating a third political alternative to the Congress and the BJP at the national level.
At his party’s plenary in Hyderabad in April, KCR even announced his intentions to foray into national politics by floating a federal front of all regional parties.
He flew down to Kolkata to talk to Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to discuss the modalities of the federal front.
He also held talks with Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Janata Dal (S) chief H D Deve Gowda, JMM chief Hemanth Soren and DMK chief M K Stalin in this connection.
But subsequently, KCR went silent on the federal front plan, though his party leaders have been talking about it on and off.
Apparently, the regional party heads have realised that his attempts were aiming at only weakening the Congress and strengthening the BJP. So, they stopped interacting with him.
Even at the Niti Ayog general council meeting held in June, the opposition party leaders ignored KCR and cosied up with Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu.
Now, it looks like KCR has been completely kept out of the federal front.
It was evident from the way Mamata Banerjee invited several regional party heads, except KCR, to her proposed mega rally of federal front in Kolkata on Jaunary 19.
Apart from TDP, DMK, RJD, Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal (S), she also called YSR Congress party, an enemy of the TDP, to the rally. She even called BJP’s ally Shiv Sena to the rally, , but not the TRS.
Reason is obvious. The TMC wants the Congress to be part of the proposed front, but KCR is strongly opposing the same.
On the other hand, the TRS and BJD are indirectly backing the Narendra Modi government and the BJP.
So, the federal front has gone out of KCR’s hands and the TMC chief hijacked the same.