Federal Front: KCR Holds Talks With Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram/Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who floated the idea of a non-Congress, non-BJP Front some time ago, met his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday.

The two leaders, however, refused to comment on the two-hour long closed door meeting which comes with two more rounds to go in the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.

Rao is on a two-day visit to the state, along with his wife Shobha and their two grandchildren.

The meeting, which was held at the Cliff House, official residence of Kerala Chief Minister, was also attended by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MPs Santosh Kumar and Vinod Kumar.

Rao, who is staying at Kovalam, a famous tourist destination in the state, will travel to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on May 8.

A statement from the Telangana Chief Minister's Office (CMO) earlier said, Rao will meet Vijayan at Thiruvananthapuram Monday evening, while he will call on DMK president M K Stalin at his residence in Chennai on May 13.

According to the statement, Rao and Vijayan, who heads the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala, will discuss "contemporary politics".

"In view of the Parliamentary elections, both the CMs will discuss contemporary politics," it said.

KCR will visit the Rameshwaram and Srirangam temples before returning home, the statement said.

Discussing the Rao-Stalin meeting, it said, "Both the leaders are likely to discuss current political scenario in the context of ongoing Parliamentary elections."

Learning about his visits to Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy also had a telephonic talk with Rao, the statement said.

The chief minister's daughter and sitting Nizamabad Lok Sabha member K Kavitha told PTI recently that regional parties not aligned with the Congress and the BJP will get 120-plus seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, and may hold the key to government formation.

She said the TRS is in touch with various parties not part of the BJP-led NDA and Congress-anchored UPA in its efforts to forge a federal front of regional outfits.

A federal front will take good shape after the Lok Sabha election results are out, Kavitha said. (PTI)

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