Telangana Chief Minister KCR calls PM Modi a ‘good friend’, sets political circles abuzz

Related: KCR has given up efforts to unite the Opposition, says KTR

‘Shared new ideas with Modi’

He said: “In Niti Aayog meetings, there were instances of sharing best practices and new ideas on good governance with the prime minister. There is nothing wrong in exchanging ideas. Modi achche mitra hai.”

The chief minister’s political demarche, comes amidst a cooling off of tensions between the BRS and the BJP, and his recent restrain over training guns at the saffron party in his public meetings.

His comment that “Modi is a good friend” also suggested the formation of different patterns in the political kaleidoscope in the Assembly elections in Telangana in December this year, and the general elections in 2024.

With his one statement, KCR let the speculation mill work overtime that he was going to help the BJP in the general elections, by deciding to contest outside Telangana as well.

When this point was brought to his notice over whether the BJP would stand to gain in Maharashtra, which has 288 seats, he said he was not bothered about who would benefit from his presence in the electoral fray.

KCR said: “This inane discussion always figures. I have my own agenda to bring about a qualitative change in the governance in India. I am not in a hurry. Let it take time. As politics is a vehicle for one to be in the legislative houses, I will fight elections. I couldn’t care less if you call the B-team or C-team of another party.”

Also read: Hard political calculations behind KCR-Owaisi ‘friendship’

Vidarbha statehood

In yet another indication that he does not want to embarrass the BJP, he remained evasive in his reply to another question about whether he was going to support the Uniform Civil Code, that the Union government wants to bring forth. He said: “Let the Centre bring it first, and let us see in which form it will be.”

On the contentious issue of Vidarbha, too, KCR was evasive when reporters repeatedly asked whether he was supporting separate statehood for the Vidarbha region. He said that the creation of a separate state should not be so tortuous and cumbersome as it was in Telangana.

“It took 15 years for me to get a separate Telangana state, and I was on the verge of death. Why should this happen? I am not talking about Vidarbha alone. I am talking about the policy that has to be in force. India is a strange country where a state like Sikkim has a 6.5 lakh population, and Uttar Pradesh, 24 crore,” he said.

Also read: KCR inaugurates BRS party office in Nagpur

‘No faith in alliances’

The chief minister, in another context, said he had no faith in alliances when a reporter asked whether he would tie up with Opposition parties or join any front in the next Lok Sabha elections, which should come as music to the ears of the saffron party leaders.

“We have seen how the National Front and United Front experiments had failed in the past,” he said, adding that, on the contrary, he welcomed any party that shared its wavelength with the BRS.

“Let those who have faith in my plan for India— ushering in structural reforms— come and join hands with me,” he said, indicating that he will not be part of the Opposition move to oust the BJP from power.

When a reporter asked whether the Opposition parties’ efforts would become weak if he stays away from the front, KCR said fronts have not delivered in the past and would not, in the future.

This effectively sealed any hope that he might join hands with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is trying to craft a credible coalition to fight Modi in the next elections.

He also ruled out joining hands with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) while fighting elections in Maharashtra. The MVA’s constituents are Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT).

What KTR said

KCR’s comment on Modi is in keeping with what his son and Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao said in an informal interaction with jounrnalists in Hyderabad on 1 June.

He said KCR had “given up his efforts to unite the Opposition parties against the ruling BJP at the Centre” and, instead, is focusing on presenting the “Telangana development model” to the country.

Indirectly referring to the BJP and Prime Minister Modi, KTR said the country does not need Opposition unity based on blind hatred of one party or a man, but it should be on a positive model of governance.

“What we are saying is that after trying everything, we have concluded that a new national party, the BRS, will be taken to the national level because there is a huge vacuum in the country. The Opposition has failed miserably,” he had said.