KCR-Uddhav talks strong on Third Front launch

 By Venkatesh Raghavan*

Mumbai: Talks held between Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao and his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray sounded promising for the formation of a non-Congress third front alliance to combat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cadres in the 2024 general elections. Later in the evening he also held talks with Maratha strongman and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

After the meeting, Telangana CM Rao confirmed that he was in the process of talking to like-minded political parties from different states. He described Uddhav as a brother and emphasized that the discussion included the pace of development in the country. “We are talking to a lot of like-minded people from our country,” he elaborated. He informed media persons outside that the foundation was in place to hold protracted meetings on the topic in a few days time. He sounded that the talks might be held in Hyderabad or any other venue as per consensus with other Party chiefs.

Also read: Thackeray, KCR and a new ‘federal front’

Uddhav too sounded upbeat about the prospects of the meeting. “We had an elaborate discussion on the situation prevailing in the country. It included the low-level politics that is being encouraged in the name of Hindutva. Our country’s future is at stake if this is allowed to continue unabated. We were worried about the future of our country and resolved to act in a befitting manner,” he said. 

In a tweet, Uddhav also mentioned that they discussed enhancing cooperation between two states in the areas related to water resources, industry, infrastructure, and inter-state joint irrigation projects.

Also present at the venue of their meet was Tejas, Uddhav’s younger son, and Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders besides Shiv Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut and famous actor Prakash Raj. The meeting took place in wake of an intensified campaign conducted by Telangana Chief Minister KCR for the formation of the Third Front in the build-up to the 2024 elections. On the side, there were also talks of KCR aspiring to be a prime ministerial candidate for the polls. KCR had earlier held talks with the Left Parties and also Tejaswi Yadav as part of the creation of a platform to launch his proposed political front.  

KCR who held a meeting with Sharad Pawar before taking his evening flight to Hyderabad is expected to organize a consolidated meet of several regional political parties from non-BJP ruled states as well as regional powers holding fort at the state levels. KCR’s visit to Mumbai was preceded by his continued and sharp verbal missiles against the ruling BJP dispensation at the Centre as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It’s been seen by political observers as Rao’s efforts to whip up a strong anti-Modi sentiment across the country in preparation for consolidating electoral gains.