Rahul Gandhi's Presence Forces KCR to Rethink Decision on Attending Mamata's Jan 19 Rally

New Delhi: With alliances being firmed up ahead of the Lok Sabha election, TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao is likely to give a miss to Mamata Banerjee’s January 19 rally of opposition parties in Kolkata as he does not want to share the stage with the Congress, reports said.

KCR, after a storming back to power in Telangana, met TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as part of his renewed efforts towards building a federal front without the BJP and the Congress.

While the Telangana chief minister spoke to media after their meeting in Kolkata on December 24 last, Mamata, reportedly not in favour of excluding the Congress in the

proposed grand opposition alliance did not offer any comment.

Asked if KCR would attend the Kolkata rally, TRS deputy floor leader in the Lok Sabha, B Vinod Kumar told PTI Thursday, "I do not know whether KCR got the invitation or not. I am not aware of it. He might have got the invitation. I do not think KCR will attend when Rahul Gandhi is attending."

For the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Congress is the main opposition in Telangana and KCR had last year described its president Rahul Gandhi as the "biggest baffoon" in the country.

The TRS returned to power last month, winning 88 seats in the 119-member Telangana Assembly, pushing the Congress to a distant second position with 19 seats. The BJP won in only one segment.

KCR also met Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJP) chief Naveen Patnaik seeking to drum up support for the federal front.

On Wednesday, Patnaik said that the BJD will not be part of the mahagathbandhan.

The TRS leader said Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who could not meet KCR during the latter's visit to Delhi recently, was expected to visit the southern state "any time" to talk to the Telangana chief minister.

On BSP supremo Mayawati's stance on KCR's federal front, he said, "We did not discuss with her".

The TRS sources claimed that KCR's federal front idea was gaining traction.

"....already that idea is broached. Mayawati and Akhilesh took a stand that they are not going to ally with Congress in Uttar Pradesh. They are also fighting against the Congress and BJP, leaving only two seats for Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi," Kumar said.