Hyderabad: “CM-in-waiting” and TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) may not have to wait long to succeed his father, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). Circles close to the CM strongly speculate that the father may pass the crown to his son in the New Year. They say there is pressure on Rao senior to do so. Once Rao Junior becomes CM, KCR will stay on as TRS president, party sources said.
The original plan had been made during the 2019 parliamentary election. KCR expected that neither the Modi-led NDA nor the Congress-led UPA would garner a majority of seats to form the government. In that case, KCR calculated that the Federal Front that he had floated with other regional parties could somehow slip through and grab power and form a government at the Centre. In this he had hoped that his party would win 16 of Telengana’s 17 Lok Sabha seats, enabling him to play a key role in national politics. But it was not to be.
Both father and son dropped sufficient hints. During his first press conference after returning as the Chief Minister on December 13, 2018, the TRS supremo was asked about KTR becoming CM. “I will take a call,” the CM said, not explicitly denying the premise of the question.
When the son became the party’s working president, KTR was asked the same thing at a media conference.
“My being KCR’s son helped my entry into politics and the party, but ultimately it was my performance that helped,” Mr KTR said.
“I have proved myself time and again. Challenges were thrown at me, and I delivered. Yes, there are more senior and capable people in the party. But if seniority is to be considered, then Rahul Gandhi should not be president of the Congress party.”
Several party MLAs have openly said that KTR should be Chief Minister. Nama Nageswara Rao, the party leader in the Lok Sabha, has in the past said that KCR should shift to national politics and KTR should be Chief Minister.
