NEW DELHI: The states of Telangana, West Bengal and Odisha will "jointly play a decisive role" in the ouster of Narendra Modi regime and formation of a regional-party-led dispensation but the Biju Janata Dal of Naveen Patnaik will commit to it only "in a post-poll scenario".
This was the "big picture message" conveyed to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leadership by Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has been ruling the state of Odisha for last two decades having marginalised Congress completely.
Sources said a senior BJD leader spoke to Telengana Chief Minister and TRS supremo K Chandrashekhar Rao and shared his party's views on these lines.
The BJD chief Mr Patnaik has so far not committed to the formation of a Third Front or Federal Front terming the stage for such a pledge now as "premature".
"It is a good idea," is only the half-hearted refrain of a section of BJD leaders who also say "it is best not to talk about something so deep without having the real numbers to back your argument".
"We would like to frame up our party's decision based on hard numbers.
Between West Bengal, Telangana and Odisha there are 80 numbers -- 21 coming from BJD-ruled Odisha, 42 from West Bengal and 17 from TRS-ruled Telangana.
So this block can be a powerful entity in 2019," a key BJD source told UNI here.
Analysing the situation, the leader said, all three parties will have to repeat their performance as in 2014 in the respective states even as there will be fresh challenges from the Left to Mamata Banerjee.
The BJD's stance so far is for equi-distance from both the BJP and the Congress and the idea of a 'federal front' has not quite enthused Naveen Patnaik though Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu and Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress have talked to him over phone.
"It will depend on numbers.
As of now, one thing is clear the regional parties TRS, Trinamool and BJD will have to play a bigger role," the source said.
No BJD Member of Parliament also showed any extra ordinary enthusiasm in meeting Ms Banerjee during her visit to Parliament earlier this week and in fact one party leader -- albeit on the condition of anonymity termed Trinamool chief's recent New Delhi sojourn "more as a ego trip".
"Mamataji wanted to give the impression that she is in Delhi to conquer and she has achieved half of it.
It was all an ego trip and media hype.
Some of it were not necessary," the party leader said.
Source also clarified that when BJD MPs Pinaki Mishra and Anubhav Mohanty met with Mamata Banerjee in Parliament House, it was "not an authorised meeting".
"It was a courtesy call and rather more of a chance meeting," the source said.
The reference was to West Bengal Chief Minister's four-day stay in the national capital and her meeting with regional party leaders including from NCP, RJD, AAP, TDP and also Sonia Gandhi of Congress.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu's likely visit to Delhi from April 2, sources said.