SP chief Akhilesh Yadav meets CM KCR in Delhi

Hyderabad: As part of his tour in Delhi, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the State Chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Friday met Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav at his official residence in the National Capital.

CM KCR has once again set-off speculation with regard to his national ambitions, and reported plans to turn his TRS into a BRS.

SP leader and ex-Uttar Pradesh chief minister had earlier also met KCR when he had floated the idea of a federal front before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. KCR had then talked about starting a non-BJP and non-Congress front. The Telangana chief minister had met several non-BJP leaders that include Yadav, in the run up to the 2019 general elections.

However, nothing came off it. After meeting Akhilesh Yadav, KCR is likely to also meet other opposition parties as well. It's mostly in tune with him building an image of himself as someone who is taking on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

KCR and his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have aggressively begun to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre. From social media attacks to putting up public hoardings across Hyderabad against the BJP, the TRS is leaving no stone unturned.

KCR had dropped hints of turning the TRS into Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS), during the TRS's plenary held last in April this year. The Telangana chief minister said that he had received suggestions from leaders to do the same, in order to float an all-India party. This statement of his took many by surprise at the event, where KCR also said that forming a new or alternative front to counter the BJP isn't his plan.

However, that plan is unlikely to materialise any time soon, it has been learnt from TRS sources. KCR and the TRS are also working with the political consulting firm Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC). TRS sources said that KCR has been advised to 'go slow' with his national party ambitions for now.

While the TRS and KCR confident of winning the next State elections in Telangana, the party however does not want to take any chances. The BJP, which had won only a single MLA seat in the 2018 polls, managed to win four Lok Sabha seats in 2019, and 48 seats in the 2020 GHMC polls as well. The saffron party also won the Dubbaka and Huzurabad by-elections in 2020 and 2021 as well. Now the TRS also planning to give its stand over supporting the opposition candidate for Vice President polls Margaret Alva.

After the President polls, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) will clarify its stand on the election of Vice President soon. In the wake of the opposition presidential candidate, Yashwant Sinha's defeat, the TRS is looking into various possibilities.

The parliamentary party leader Dr K Keshav Rao said that within the next two days, the TRS will clarify its stand regarding the Vice President election whether to participate in the election or stay neutral. The final decision shall be taken by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao after consulting the party leaders.

Rao said that the TRS's anti-BJP stand shall continue.

It is to be noted that the opposition party has filed Margaret Alva as a unanimous candidate. Trinamool Congress has criticized the unilateral decision and decided to stay neutral.

The TRS could also follow the Trinamool Congress path to distance itself from the election process.

The KCR could keep distance from the anti-BJP political parties. Many MPs have advised remaining neutral in the Vice President election.