New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday met Congress president Rahul Gandhi to discuss Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-Congress alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
The two leaders discussed about forming an alliance for the December 7 Assembly elections in Telangana and also form a grand alliance for the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Addressing a joint press conference, Naidu said, “We are coming together to save the nation. We have to forget the past. Now, it is a democratic compulsion to unite. All opposition needs to be one.”
Taking a dig at the BJP, Naidu said, “I have been into politics for over 40 years but have never seen such a government, the situation in the country demands coming together of all opposition parties.”
Gandhi, on the other hand, announced that his party would work together with Naidu’s TDP in order to “defend democracy and future of the country”.
“We had a very good meeting. The gist was that we have to defend democracy and future of the country. So, we are coming together to work. All opposition forces must unite,” the Congress president said.
The Congress and TDP rivalry is now in the past and what matters now is the present and the future, he added.
Naidu has been meeting leaders of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in view of the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
On October 27, Naidu had met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and veteran leader Sharad Yadav.
Earlier, he had also met former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has been extremely vocal and straight-forward about his critical opinions against the Centre. He had earlier said that the country needs a national-level alliance to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming elections.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]