KCR to meet DMK chief Stalin today

TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will meet DMK President M K Stalin in Chennai on Monday evening. The meeting comes a week after the DMK snubbing the TRS leader by almost refusing to give an appointment citing campaign commitments.

DMK sources said the meeting was a “courtesy call” as Rao is in Tamil Nadu for temple hopping and no political significance could be attached. Rao will arrive in Chennai from Tiruchirapalli where he has been visiting temples since Sunday.

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Rao, who met Kerala Chief Minister Pinnarayi Vijayan on Monday, had sought an appointment with Stalin as part of his efforts to meet regional satraps to drum up support for a non-BJP, non-Congress front. DMK sources had told DH that the meeting was unlikely to happen since Stalin was busy campaigning for by-elections to four assembly constituencies scheduled to be held on May 19.

But Rao will meet Stalin at the latter’s residence at 4 pm on Monday and is likely to broach the topic of his efforts to unite regional parties ahead of the Lok Sabha poll results on May 23. Since DMK has projected Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial face of its alliance in Tamil Nadu, the party is likely to ask Rao to support a secular formation after the elections.

Rao had met Stalin and his father M Karunanidhi in April 2018 and sought the DMK's support for the Federal Front. However, the DMK decided to continue its alliance with Congress for the Lok Sabha polls and made the announcement after the death of Karunanidhi.