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Election 2019: What Is Chandrasekhar Rao’s Game Plan?

K Chandrasekhar Rao is trying to garner support for a non-Congress, non-BJP federal front to form a government in New Delhi.

(Source: TRS Twitter Handle)
(Source: TRS Twitter Handle)

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is trying to garner support for a non-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party federal front to form a government in New Delhi. This week the Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief met Left leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He also reached out to DMK Chief MK Stalin and Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

This is Rao’s second attempt at a federal front, but can he convert it into a political reality?

Rao is trying to form a front which will support the National Democratic Alliance government, according to author and Journalist Kingshuk Nag. “Rao fancies the role of the Prime Minster and is banking on the NDA not winning a majority. That is why he trying to form a front which will help the BJP form a government in New Delhi.”

But senior journalist Sugata Srinivasaraju disagrees. Rao is keeping the federal front idea alive so that there could be good bargaining when the numbers are out, he said. This may be the first sign of an acknowledgment that there is going to be a coalition setup at the centre, according to Srinivasaraju.

Multiple voter surveys have predicted that the ruling NDA may fall short of the majority mark of 272 in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. A senior BJP leader, according to a Bloomberg report, forecasts it will require the support of allies to form India’s next government.

With the emergence of the regional political leaders, the third-front can score between 100 and 200 seats, said E Venkateshu, coordinator at CSDS Lokniti. In such a scenario, to form a non-BJP, non-Congress federal front, the regional political forces will have to compromise to repeat the era of coalition politics in India, he said.

But who will play kingmaker post poll results?

On May 24 all key regional leaders will go to Delhi with their own wish list and demands and nobody is going to speak for the other, according to author Krishna Ananth.

“Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati will play a big role after the results come out and the idea of a federal front looks like kite flying.”

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