Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said he will launch his national party soon and the work to form its policy is in progress, The Indian Express reported.

“There has been a consensus on the alternative national agenda after prolonged discussions with intellectuals, economists and experts from various fields like we did before the start of the Telangana movement,” an official release from Rao’s office said.

In recent months, Rao has frequently criticised the Centre over its policies and called for a change at the national level. He has also spoken to other Opposition parties in the country in a bid to unite them to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He has held meetings with political leaders, including Pinarayi Vijayan, Arvind Kejriwal, Nitish Kumar and Uddhav Thackeray.

In July, he had described Narendra Modi as the “weakest and inefficient” prime minister ever in the country and said that there was a need for a “double-engine non-BJP government” at the Centre.

“During the Congress rule, there was brain drain,” Rao had said. “Now, with your [Modi] government policies, there is a capital drain, resulting in depleting forex reserves.”

In August, he had said that India should be rid of the BJP, which he claimed will sell the country one day.

How does a party get national status?

For national status, Rao’s party has to fulfil one of the three conditions:

  1. Secure at least 6% of the valid vote in an Assembly or a Lok Sabha General Election in four or more states and win at least four seats in a Lok Sabha General Election from any state.
  2. Win at least 2% of the total Lok Sabha seats from at least three states.
  3. The party is recognised in at least four states.