Telangana CM KCR to meet Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: At a time when the regional forces are coming together to check the Modi wave in the country, the news of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao meeting Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the first week of May has stoked speculations.

However, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik downplayed the reports and said that KCR will be visiting Odisha for pilgrimage and there are no plans of discussions on federal front.

"As far as I know, the Telangana Chief Minister is going on a pilgrimage to Puri; on the way he is paying a courtesy call. There will be no discussion on a federal front or anything to do with politics for the matter," said Patnaik.

Rao recently met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and the former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) chief H D Deve Gowda.

Earlier, without divulging anything related to the duo's meeting, government chief whip Amar Prasad Satpathy said, "The way people support our State's CM and his views on national issues, leaders of different political parties with similar ideologies usually meet him."

BJP MLA Pradeep Purohit on the other hand said that fear has engulfed the regional parties.

"The regional forces are scared of the massive impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personality on their prospects in politics," Purohit added.