Dussehra may be D-Day, as KCR speeds up talks for national launch

Vice-chairman of Telangana State Planning Board and ex-MP B Vinod Kumar, who was present for Sunday’s meeting at KCR’s office-cum-residence Pragathi Bhavan, told The Indian Express that the chief minister held a meeting regarding October 5. “Today we are discussing the October 5 announcement. The CM would be announcing the formation of a national party on that day,” Kumar said.

Vinod Kumar said that the TRS party name would be changed to make it into a national party. “On October 5, we will announce a change in our party name from Telangana Rashtra Samiti to Bharatiya Rashtra Samiti. We are not registering any new party. This is the situation as of now but it can change in future. Any regional party can contest in other states after informing the Election Commission, without having to register as national party,” Kumar said.

KCR will put forward his plans, present a roadmap for the party and discuss the way forward, sources said. The chief minister is keen on preparing a plan of action for the welfare and upliftment of the farming community in the country, a comprehensive roadmap for Dalits, and for promoting communal harmony and tolerance. KCR, who says that many regions face shortage of water for irrigation and drinking as the 70,000 TMC of water available in the country is not harvested properly, has also been discussing water supply plans.

The chief minister also has plans for proper utilisation of the 4,04 lakh MW installed power capacity in the country which he says is underutilised by the NDA government. As a national leader, he has sought to promote peace and communal harmony in the country. “There is no place for religious hatred and intolerance in Telangana and it should be like that in the country,’’ he said recently. KCR also accused the BJP of fuelling hate in the name of religion across India. On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, he laid emphasis on the Gandhian principles of non-violence and tolerance.

On September 5, making his intentions clear for a national role and a BJP-mukt Bharat, KCR had announced at a public meeting in Nizamabad that a non-BJP coalition would come to power at the Centre and provide free electricity to all farmers in the country.

KCR, who is seeking a national role in politics and wants to form an alliance of like-minded parties, has met several regional party leaders already and is exploring the possibility of forming an alternative front without the Congress.

He has so far met Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president Shibu Soren; Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin; Maharashtra former chief minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, RJD leader and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, and former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela.

The TRS camp is also watching Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo yatra, the election to the AICC president’s post, and the meetings of regional party leaders like Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav with Sonia Gandhi seeking a united Opposition ahead of the 2024 polls.