Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is all set to meet Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday to discuss Rao’s plans to launch a national party, which is expected to be launched in Dusshera on October 5, NDTV reported.

Kumaraswamy had arrived at the Begumpet airport on Saturday night, The Hindu reported, citing sources. The meeting is being seen as a precursor to the entry of Rao on the national stage.

Earlier, the president of the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) had met Kumaraswamy and his father and former Prime Minister HD Devegowda in Bengaluru.

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The Sunday meeting of the leaders comes in the backdrop of the Opposition parties trying to build a united front to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The meeting with Kumaraswamy follows KCR’s earlier meeting with Janata Dal United (JDU) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on September 1 where the leaders had held talks on stitching an alliance of Opposition parties, and called for a “BJP mukt Bharat” (BJP-free India).

“We will try to unite all Opposition parties in the country,” KCR had said at the press conference.

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In his recent public meetings in the state, the CM has spoken about Telangana playing a vibrant role in national politics. In its Foundation Day event in April, the TRS had adopted a political resolution resolving that the party should play the key role in national politics for the wider interest of the country. It accused the ruling BJP for exploiting the “communal sentiments” of people for political gains.

Rao, in the recent times, has met a number of non-BJP, non-Congress opposition leaders, including Nitish Kumar, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Hemant Soren. The Telangana CM has also held meetings with farmer leaders across India and has promised free electricity to them.

The new national party flag could carry the TRS’ pink colour, with the tricolour embossed on it, NDTV reported.