Mumbai Feb 20 PTI Amid buzz about forging a third front Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday met his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray who heads Shiv Sena and NCP president Sharad Pawar separately as part of efforts to bring together like-minded parties against the BJP at the national level While Rao and Thackeray agreed the need to bring a change Pawar stressed the need for all like-minded parties to join hands to resolve various issues like unemployment and the agrarian crisis and said they will meet again Though neither Rao who heads the Telangana Rashtra Samithi TRS nor Uddhav or Pawar spoke about a third front in clear terms the Congress welcomed Raos efforts to forge an anti-BJP front but also cautioned that such bloc cannot be formed excluding the Grand Old Party Rao who travelled to Mumbai on the invitation of Thackeray said that he and the Maharashtra CM have agreed that change is the need of the hour The meeting between Rao and Thackeray held at the latters official bungalow Varsha lasted for neasrly two hours Rao then travelled to Pawars residence in south Mumbai where he held a political discussion with the veteran leader on how to take the country forward after 75 years of independence On his part Pawar stressed the need for all like-minded parties to join hands to resolve various issues like hunger poverty unemployment and the agrarian crisis facing the country The NCP chief told reporters that Telangana had taken good steps for the welfare of farmers which were a model for the rest of the country We discussed the political situation development issues being faced by the country after 75 years of independence the TRS chief said after meeting Pawar Rao said Thackeray and he agreed that a change was needed in the country All should co-exist in harmony he said We will meet again after speaking to other regional and national parties on the road ahead The path taken from Maharashtra always leads to success This is a a good beginning and it is a fight for preserving the democracy he said The TRS chief said he has invited Thackeray to Hyderabad Telangana and Maharashtra share a 1000-km border We need to have friendly relations with each other for the development of both states and the country I and the Maharashtra chief minister have agreed on issues pertaining to development and the need for structural changes in the country the Telangana CM told reporters Thackeray in a veiled attack on the BJP said the present day politics of revenge was neither Hindutva nor Indian culture and that the situation needed to change What is the countrys future if such an atmosphere continues he said adding that his discussion with Rao revolved around these issues The politics of revenge is not good Instead of speaking on development issues during their tenure lies and misinformation are spread about the political opponents he said without taking any name Those present in the meeting included Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and other leaders Uddhav Thackerays younger son Tejas Thackeray was also seen in pictures released by the Chief Ministers Office Actor Prakash Raj was also among the prominent faces accompanying Rao Addressing reporters at his south Mumbai residence with Rao Pawar said Our focus is only on development development and development We will meet again Pawar had been supporting the movement for the creation of a separate Telangana state since 1969 I was here to have a political discussion with Sharad Pawar and how to take the country forward after 75 years of independence We also discussed the need to bring the changes that are required but have not been done so far said Rao He also said the experience of Pawar as the senior-most leader in the country is valuable and it counts Such meetings will continue All leaders would meet again he added The Congress said though Raos efforts to forge an anti-BJP front are welcome but cautioned that such an initiative by regional parties cannot be successful without the Grand Old Party which is the only alternative to the ruling BJP Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole claimed that the TRS had earlier taken a stand in Parliament which was beneficial to BJP but now its views about BJP have changed We welcome this change of heart he told reporters Speaking in Pune Union minister Ramdas Athawale asserted that even if Shiv Sena TRS and other parties come together to form a third front at the national level there is no threat to the NDA as people are happy under the Narendra Modi-led government PTI MR COR GK NP NSK NSK