KCR, Mamata pitch for 'non-BJP, non-Congress federal front'

NEW DELHI: Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee today pitched for a non-BJP, non-Congress "federal front" to counter the political powerhouses ahead of the 2019 general elections.

"People are thinking before 2019 there will be another front. Let me clarify that this front will be for people of India. This won't be a mere alliance of a few political parties, this will be for the people. There is a need for alternate force," Rao told reporters.

The announcement came soon after an hour-long meeting between the two regional satraps at the State Secretariat in Kolkata.

Rao said the so-called federal front would be an amalgamation of like-minded people who are determined to reinvent the nation's political scenario. Parrying the tricky question of who would head the front, the TRS chief said: "It will be a collective leadership, it will be a federal leadership."

On her part, Mamata said the federal front has made a good beginning and, through collective effort, has the potential to become a political force to be reckoned with.

"We have started a dialogue and spoken to other parties. We're hopeful of garnering more support. We want federal front to be strong," she said

The TMC chief said in an aside that "one party should not rule the country."

When asked if the federal front would accept outside support from the Congress during the 2019 polls, Rao demurred to say: "You are thinking in the routine political model. The agenda we are proposing is different from the routine political model. This will be a people's agenda."

After Rao recently proposed formation of a third front at the national level, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year, Mamata had spoken to him over phone, extending her support.

"The discussions will focus on creating some kind of regional formation for setting up a political front with like-minded parties and for creating an agenda for the country's growth," they said previously.