Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao, who not long ago floated the idea of a non-Congress and non-BJP government at the centre, is once again in action, meeting his counterpart from Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan.
Rao, also known as KCR, was to meet DMK chief MK Stalin on May 13, but sources now indicate that the meeting may not happen.
Sources close to the DMK President said Stalin was "busy" with his campaign schedule for the May 19 by-polls to four constituencies in the state and declined to divulge more details.
Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, whose party JD(S) is in alliance with the Congress in Karnataka, is also believed to have rung up KCR after learning about his visits to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Rao had met Stalin in April last as part of his outreach to regional parties, with the DMK leader hosting lunch for the visiting TRS supremo and his party colleagues.
However, the Dravidian party later entered into a poll pact with Congress and faced the April 18 Lok Sabha polls in the state in alliance with the national party as part of a mega-coalition that also includes the Left.
The DMK's move is perceived as a signal to the Telangana veteran that it was keen to carry on its alliance with the Congress even after the results of the seven-phase polling are out on May 23.
KCR's daughter and sitting Nizamabad Lok Sabha member K Kavitha told PTI recently that regional parties not aligned with the Congress and the BJP will get 120-plus seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, and may hold the key to government formation.
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She said the TRS is in touch with various parties not part of the BJP-led NDA and Congress-anchored UPA in its efforts to forge a federal front of regional outfits.
A federal front will take good shape after the Lok Sabha election results are out, Kavitha said.
Polling for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 took place on Monday in over 50 seats spread across 7 states.
(With inputs from PTI)
