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Sanjay Raut says no political front possible sans Cong, KCR has ability to lead
Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that even when Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had spoken about a front to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Sena had said the Congress had to be taken along.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has said there have been no talks regarding the formation of a political front without the Congress, while speaking about the abilities of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to lead from the front. Raut further said that even when Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had spoken about a front to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Sena had said the Congress had to be taken along.
Rao, also known as KCR, met Sena supremo and his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray, in Mumbai on Sunday. The meeting was attended by Raut and actor Prakash Raj. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief also met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) head Sharad Pawar during his day-long visit to Mumbai.
“We never said that a political front would be formed without the Congress. At the time when Mamata Banerjee had suggested a political front, the Shiv Sena was the first political party that talked about taking the Congress along. KCR has the ability to lead by taking everyone along,” Raut was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The Sena heads an alliance government of three parties, including the NCP and Congress, in Maharashtra.
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Earlier in the day, the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said the talks will expedite the process of political unity at the national level against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Rao, who has been on a diatribe against the BJP-led Centre in recent days and even launched an attack on Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his father-son remark on Rahul and Rajiv Gandhi, is said to be planning a meeting with the Trinamool Congress supremo as well. He recently said the BJP should be "expelled" from the country or else the country will be "ruined".
(With agency inputs)
