KCR meets ex-PM HD Deve Gowda, JDS' HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru amid pan-India tour

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday met former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his son, HD Kumaraswamy, at their residence in Bengaluru. This comes as a part of KCR's pan-India tour as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is eyeing a significant role in national politics.

Following the meeting, the former PM tweeted:

On May 20, the Telangana CM embarked on a pan-India tour. After his Bengaluru visit, KCR is expected to proceed to Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra where he will call on veteran social activist Anna Hazare. After offering prayers at the Saibaba temple in Shirdi, he will return to Hyderabad. However, he will tour West Bengal and Bihar on May 29 and 30 to console the kin of the Galwan martyrs and provide them assistance. 

KCR's national politics ambition

In the last couple of months, KCR has expressed a desire to unite other regional political forces in the last few months and stepped up his criticism of the BJP and PM Modi over a number of issues. On February 13, the Telangana CM announced that he will soon meet both Banerjee as well as Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray in an endeavour to unite political parties against the BJP government. A week later, he visited Mumbai along with a delegation comprising his daughter K Kavitha, actor Prakash Raj and other TRS leaders and met both Thackeray as well as the NCP supremo.

 On February 20, while addressing a press conference alongside the Maharashtra CM, KCR had said, " "There is a need in the country for a strong, inclusive India. We will speak to regional parties and national parties as well. We want to work with the inspiration of Shivaji Maharaj and fight for democracy and justice. I invite Uddhav Thackeray to Hyderabad. I am very happy after today's meeting. We will talk with more CMs of other states".