Chennai: Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Monday sought support of DMK chief MK Stalin for a possible “coalition of regional parties” to form the next government at the Centre. Stalin is believed to have told him that it would be “futile” to make such a bid without the Congress. Like Andhra leaders N Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Rao has been trying to extend his political reach beyond the state, ahead of the Lok Sabha results.“We believe regional parties will win around 150 seats, giving them a clear stature as a single force,” TRS general secretary Palla Rajeshwar Reddy told ET. When asked why the TRS had not approached BJP allies such as Shiv Sena or JDU, Reddy said such meetings “were in the pipeline.”DMK insiders said the situation was “fluid.” N Sathiya Moorthy of the Observer Research Foundation in Chennai said: “Stalin will not commit himself before the results and before knowing the Congress’ national tally.”Analysts said DMK was unlikely to be wooed by TRS, as Stalin was first to project Rahul Gandhi as PM at a public meeting in Chennai last December.In his first speech as DMK president, Stalin had vowed to dislodge the BJP from power with the help of allies. The Tamil Nadu Congress dismissed the federal front as a “pipe dream.” The AIADMK and BJP interpreted it as DMK’s move to “haggle better” with the Congress, unwittingly betraying their fears about the May 23 outcome.

Source: Economic Times May 14, 2019 00:22 UTC