Why Telangana CM KCR is renewing pitch for mahagathbandhan

After a brief lull, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has renewed efforts to push his idea of a Federal Front, a national alternative to the Congress and the BJP. When he first mooted the idea in March last year, there were not many takers.

KCR was quick off the block to share the idea and met a string of leaders including Mamata Banerjee, HD Deve Gowda, MK Stalin and Naveen Patnaik to make a case for a non-Congress and non-BJP front. But, despite the initial euphoria, the idea of a mahagathbandhan hasn’t made much headway. Sensing this inertia, KCR appears to be renewing his idea and call for regional parties to come together on a common platform to play a decisive role in government formation at the Centre after the general elections.

KCR, a chief architect of the Telangana statehood movement, reckons that the opposition alliance, of which Congress is a part, is a bundle of contradictions and is unable to present itself as a cohesive alternative. The leaders of his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) cite the collapse of Congress-AAP alliance talks and the BSP’s snubbing of the grand old party, to argue that time is ripe for like-minded regional parties to come together under the umbrella of a Federal Front and present an alternative to the people.

KCR’s son and working president of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) K T Rama Rao says the Federal Front would decide the next Prime Minister of the country and the agenda of the next government.

New Slogan

“Saar plus car ante Delhilo sarkar” (KCR and TRS’s car symbol will mean our government in Delhi)” is the new slogan of TRS which secured a resounding mandate for a second term in the recent Assembly elections in Telangana.

Launching the party’s campaign for the coming general elections at Karimnagar town on March 6, Rama Rao made a strong pitch for a Federal Front and said his party would renew efforts to bring together the regional parties as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP.

The idea behind the Federal Front is to foster true federal spirit by strengthening the voice of the regional parties in Parliament and end the domination of the two national parties. The TRS hopes to repeat its Assembly performance and sweep the Lok Sabha polls, eyeing to capture 16 of the total 17 seats in the state, while leaving the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat to its ally All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) whose president Asaduddin Owaisi has been representing the constituency since 2004.

Regional Aspirations

The TRS’ calculation is that the coming elections would throw up a “1996-type fractured mandate” and the Federal Front of regional parties would be able to play a decisive role in the government formation. “Regional aspirations will find greater resonance in such a coalition arrangement at the Centre,” says KTR who is tipped to be KCR’s political successor.

“It is time to realise that development of states will lead to the nation’s development. Though the constitution has said that India will be a Union of states, what has emerged so far is a ‘unitary state’ instead,” he says.

The Federal Front would be able to correct the “historical imbalances” in the developmental model and would put the country on a high growth trajectory, it is argued. “The successive governments of Congress and BJP have failed to meet the aspirations of the people and solve the pressing problems ailing the country. With a common strategy and a set of well-defined programmes, the Federal Front has a potential to transform the country’s infrastructure, irrigation, agriculture and industries sectors,” KCR had said while unveiling his idea in March last year.

“We will set off tremors that will jolt the two national parties,” he had said. However, his proposal did not take off because he was seen by the Congress as a mole of the BJP. What added to the Congress’ concerns was his support to the NDA government on a string of policy issues including demonetisation and GST.

Since Congress remains his principal adversary in Telangana, KCR is averse to associating himself with any formation at national level of which Congress is a partner.