KCR Meets PM Modi, Says TRS Can Support BJP If It Falls Short Of Majority In 2019 National Elections

In his second meeting with the Prime Minister (PM) in less than 50 days, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader and the state’s Chief Minister K Charashekhar Rao (KCR) is understood to have expressed his support for a post-poll alliance if the BJP falls short of a majority in the 2019 national elections.

According to a report by the Times of India, quoting sources, the TRS sees a pre-poll alliance with the BJP as unviable, but is open to a post-poll alliance in case the ruling NDA falls short of a majority. The TRS chief reportedly believes that the BJP does not possess winnable candidates in Telangana, making a pre-poll alliance unviable for the TRS.

The report comes amid several hints being dropped by the TRS in recent months about its growing frustration with an Opposition alliance.

The TRS chief had earlier tried to engineer a non-BJP, non-Congress ‘federal front’ which several party leaders had recently claimed was hijacked by TMC leader Mamata Banerjee, who tried to convert it into a Mahagathbandhan, including the Congress, with Banerjee as the face.

The TRS had a falling out over the inclusion of Congress as it serves as the principal opposition in Telangana. The BJP on the other hand, isn’t politically significant in the state as of yet making an alliance possible. The BJP, after its falling-out with the TDP, too is keen to gain allies in South India. The possibility of an alliance with the TRS may also help it in getting other regional on board the NDA.