Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s (TRS) senior leader and minister Srinivas Goud has created ripples among the political circles this weekend by predicting that IT and Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) would soon replace Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). However, Goud did not specify when this change of guard will take place. Some predict the change to be in February.
Addressing a media conference at the party headquarters, Telangana Bhavan, in Banjara Hills in the city on Friday, Excise, Culture and Youth Affairs Minister Srinivas Goud said: “Everyone in the state know that KTR (only son of Chief Minister KCR) will be the next Chief Minister of Telangana. KTR is the symbol of youth power in the state.”
Goud’s statement was welcomed by the party circles as the minister couldn’t have made this statement at the party office in an official media conference, meant to elaborate the steps taken for victory of TRS in the coming municipal elections next month. Only a couple of hours later, KTR too came to the party office and addressed another election meeting.
KTR, the 43-year-old son of KCR, is already the executive president of TRS and handles key portfolios IT, industries and municipal administration in the Cabinet. The Chief Minister has handed over the responsibility of leading the party in the civic body elections to his son. In fact, KTR led TRS to a stupendous victory in the previous municipal elections as well as that of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
Goud’s statement, or a sort of demand, has been welcomed by the top brass of the ruling party, albeit in a low-key manner, as they don’t know whether they were permitted to do so. Several party leaders have begun issuing statements like “Future leader, KTR” and “Youth Power, KTR”. There is an increased rush by party leaders to be with KTR at his events.
KCR has left the decision of selection of candidates for the municipal elections to KTR, who in turn had set up panels to screen the aspirants. Minister Goud’s statement predicting promotion to KTR has added more clout to the young leader. Goud said that the family of KCAR had suffered a lot for the sake of Telangana statehood and they deserved to be in power.
Some ministers who spoke to this newspaper, however, are not sure of when this change of guard would take place. “We all know KTR is our next leader and already No 2 in the party and the government, but we don’t know when this change of Chief Minister will take place,” said a minister from Karimnagar district, who is senior in the party too.
KCR originally wanted to go to national politics in case there was a hung Lok Sabha in the May elections and leave the state leadership to his son, KTR, but the resounding victory of BJP in the polls had scuttled his plans. Now that the BJP is suffering some electoral losses in Maharashtra and Jharkhand etc, KCR’s hopes of playing a bigger role at the national level have been revived.
A section of TRS seniors are guessing massive changes in the party and government in the coming two to three months, as KCR’s birthday is fast approaching on 17 February. “You won’t be surprised if KCR hands over his chair to his son on his birthday,” said a former TRS MLC who claims to be in the know of things. However, others rule out any change of guard so soon.
The coming Rajya Sabha elections are another time-line for political changes in the TRS. A senior Rajya Sabha MP K. Keshav Rao retires by the time and KCR is likely to nominate his daughter K. Kavitha to the slot as she lost her election from Nizamabad MP seat earlier this year. Keshav Rao might be accommodated as an MLC. Some leaders predict that KCR himself would go to Rajya Sabha this time and give his Gajwel Assembly seat to his daughter to become an MLA. In that case, Kavitha can be made a minister in the state.