HYDERABAD: After the TRS skipped the non-BJP parties’ meeting in Delhi on Wednesday, the focus has shifted to its stand during the Presidential election, scheduled for July 18.
Party sources said the reasons cited by the TRS leadership for staying away from the non-BJP parties meeting convened by Trinamul Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — of not wanting to share a stage with the Congress — clearly indicated that it would abstain from voting.
TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao would not make any more attempts to meet regional party leaders to forge an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Instead, he would focus on strengthening and expanding his proposed own national party.
While announcing its decision to skip Mamata Banerjee's meeting in Delhi, the party leadership, through an official release, stated, “The TRS will maintain equal distance from both the national parties the BJP and the Congress."
This indicates that TRS will not support the BJP-led NDA candidate or the Congress-led UPA candidate or any other candidate fielded by Opposition parties with the support of the Congress. The TRS has no option but to abstain from the Presidential election to stick to its stand.
The TRS leadership also took potshots at Mamata Banerjee for inviting the Congress for the meeting and also for approaching NCP chief Sharad Pawar for contesting the Presidential election on behalf of the Opposition parties without consulting other non-BJP parties.
By directly criticising and opposing prominent non-BJP leaders Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar, Chandrashekar Rao sent a direct message that he no longer want to woo regional party leaders by visiting their states or meeting them to forge any front to take on the BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
