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No talks of pact with KCR, Jagan yet, says BJP’s Muralidhar Rao
The BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu said he believed that parties that could win only a few seats, but were talking of their leaders possibly becoming PM, were actually helping his party’s cause.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not held any discussions on a post-poll alliance with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi or the YSR Congress as the party was confident of winning a clear majority and forming a government at the Centre, senior BJP leader Muralidhar Rao said.
The BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu said he believed that parties that could win only a few seats, but were talking of their leaders possibly becoming PM, were actually helping his party’s cause.
Muralidhar Rao said the BJP had not been in any talks with TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao (also known as KCR), who is the Telangana chief minister, or YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, who heads the main opposition party in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Telangana elects 17 members of the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh 25.
KCR on Tuesday met Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to discuss his concept of an alternative Federal Front -- which Muralidhar Rao said were only “floated and discussed” but did not have a long shelf life.
“After (May) 23rd, you will have, once again, a clear government with its own majority -- that is BJP under Modiji. People are not going to accept any formula which creates uncertainty and incoherence. A government consisting of lot of contradictions -- such things people are not going to accept,” Muralidhar Rao said.
Asked if the situation could change with TRS or YSR Congress after the results are declared on May 23, Rao said he did not expect any scenario in which the BJP would confront such compulsions.
“Post-elections, after formation of the government on national issues, having cooperation based on convergence is different. That existed even in 2014 to 2019...I do not foresee any compulsion for BJP or Modiji’s government to invite anybody to create stability,” he said.
