Three heavy-weight chief ministers of the Opposition-ruled southern states were absent at the southern zonal council meeting, chaired by Union Home & Cooperation Minister.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin (DMK), Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan (CPI-M) and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (TRS) did not show up at the well-publicized, high-profile event. Rao, reports said, stayed away due to `political reasons’.
Those present were YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief minister of the host state Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and Puducherry chief minister N Rangaswamy, and Lt Governors of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Lakshadweep. The BJP rules in Karnataka, and is part of the ruling coalition in Puducherry.
