TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will meet Janata Dal (Secular) president and former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy here on Sunday in what is being billed as a precursor to the entry of Mr. Rao on the national stage with the launch of a party most likely on Dasara day.
Mr. Kumaraswamy arrived at the Begumpet airport on Saturday night and was received by officials of the CMO, sources said.
The meeting of Mr. Rao and Mr. Kumaraswamy was viewed as part of a series of consultations the former had for several months with non-BJP and non-Congress leaders at the national level to forge unity as a third alternative. Both of them had already met once in Bengaluru earlier in the presence of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.
Sources said the party contemplated by Mr. Rao will be an agglomeration of regional and sub-regional parties while maintaining their own identity. It will have members from different walks of life. Consultations with them were already over. Mr. Rao will continue as Chief Minister while touring other States to spread the roots of the new party and strengthen it.
They added that the launch of the party will be preceded by further negotiations with leaders of like minded parties to discuss nitty gritties. It was in this context, Mr. Kumaraswamy was extended the invitation. The new party will retain the pink colour identified with TRS but will have the map of India embossed on it. It will project at the national level its flagship programmes like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Beema and free power to agriculture.
Mr. Rao had prepared the ground for the launch of the party by seeking acceptance of participants at the TRS plenary in April and several other fora including public meetings. The appeal of district presidents of TRS on Friday asking Mr. Rao to play a role at the national level in a bid to oust the BJP led Central government was the latest in the series. It was likely that the Assembly proceedings on Monday and Tuesday will also be used by TRS MLAs to request him to focus on national politics.
