KCR lines up meetings with Mamata, Patnaik, Mayawati, Akhilesh

Seeking to step up efforts towards forging a non-Congress, non-BJP federal front, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will meet top leaders of the Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party next week.

Fresh from a landslide victory of the TRS in the Assembly polls, Rao will meet BJD chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on December 23 and TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata the next day, according to a release from his office.

During his stay in New Delhi for two-three days from December 25, Rao, who was sworn in as chief minister for a second consecutive term on December 13, would call on BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

 

He will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also meet Union ministers to discuss state-related issues, the release said.

A day after taking over as chief minister, Rao had appointed his son, K T Rama Rao, as the working president of the party.

According to the release, in a special flight engaged for the TRS for a month, Rao would travel to Visakhapatnam, in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, on December 23 with his family members.

He will visit the Sharada Peetham in the port city and offer special prayers at the Rajasyamala temple. He would also seek the blessings of Swami Swarupanandendra, it said.

From the Visakhapatnam airport, Rao would proceed to Bhubaneswar and call on Patnaik at 6 pm and stay the night at the official residence of the Odisha chief minister.

On December 24, Rao would visit the Konark temple and the Jagannath temple and then proceed to Kolkata. At around 4 pm, he would call on Banerjee, the release said.

After the meeting, Rao would visit the Kali temple in the eastern metropolis and leave for Delhi the same night, it added.

A few months ago, Rao had met several leaders, including Banerjee (in Kolkata), DMK chief M K Stalin, former prime minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda, as part of his efforts to forge a non-Congress, non-BJP front and to "bring about a qualitative change" in politics, while Akhilesh Yadav had called on him in Hyderabad.

Rao had alleged that both the Congress and the BJP have failed to meet the expectations of the people of the country even 70 years after Independence.