Hyderabad: There is reportedly much more to the TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao's back-to-back meetings with Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Sunday besides Rao's urgency in launching tours to states on Sunday to meet leaders of regional parties when Lok Sabha polls are more than two years away.
TRS insiders say the topmost priority for Rao at this stage is to unite all Opposition parties within five months by July this year so as to put up a common Opposition candidate and trounce the BJP-led NDA candidates in the upcoming President and Vice President elections and prepare ground for 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Although Chandrashekar Rao, Thackeray and Pawar did not mention anything about the elections for the posts of President and the Vice President while speaking to media on Sunday, the TRS insiders said the focal point of their discussions was how to display Opposition power and defeat NDA candidates in these polls.
The elections for President of India are scheduled for July this year and for Vice President in August. The TRS had supported NDA candidate Ramnath Kovind in the Presidential election held in July 2017 and also supported NDA candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu in the Vice Presidential election held in August in 2017. The five-year tenure of Kovind and Naidu will end in July and August.
Although the NDA enjoys a considerable majority to win President and Vice President elections, Chandrashekar Rao is of the strong opinion that the situation would change after March 10 with the announcement of Assembly elections results in five states.
Chandrashekar Rao expects the BJP to lose major states Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The TRS insiders say in the meetings held with Thackeray and Pawar on Sunday, Chandrashekar Rao talked about how the NDA's strength would come down after Assembly results in five states on March 10 and how the Opposition parties can exploit this opportunity with their unity. Chandrashekar Rao reportedly told them that the results on March 10 would decide the fate of 690 MLA seats and 19 Rajya Sabha seats in these states and the non-BJP parties would bag a majority of these seats.
Chandrashekar Rao reportedly told both the leaders that the President and Vice President elections would give an ideal opportunity for non-BJP parties to come together to defeat the BJP, which will go a long way in rooting out the BJP from power at the Centre in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
