K. Chandrashekar Rao | |
---|---|
3rd Leader of the Opposition Telangana Legislative Assembly | |
Assumed office 9 December 2023 | |
Governor | Tamilisai Soundararajan |
Chief Minister | Revanth Reddy |
Preceded by | Vacant Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka (2018-19) |
President of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi | |
Assumed office 5 October 2022 | |
Working President | K. T. Rama Rao |
Preceded by | Office Established |
1st Chief Minister of Telangana | |
In office 2 June 2014 –7 December 2023 | |
Governor | |
Deputy |
|
Preceded by | Office Established ( Kiran Kumar Reddy as Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh ) |
Succeeded by | Anumula Revanth Reddy [1] |
Member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly | |
Assumed office 2 June 2014 | |
Preceded by | Tumkunta Narsa Reddy |
Constituency | Gajwel |
Union Minister of Labour &Employment | |
In office 27 November 2004 –24 August 2006 | |
Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
Preceded by | Sis Ram Ola |
Succeeded by | Manmohan Singh |
Union Minister of Ports,Shipping &Waterways | |
In office 22 May 2004 –25 May 2004 | |
Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
Preceded by | Shatrughan Sinha |
Succeeded by | T. R. Baalu |
Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha | |
In office 2009–2014 | |
Preceded by | D. Vittal Rao |
Succeeded by | A. P. Jithender Reddy |
Constituency | Mahbubnagar |
In office 2004–2009 | |
Preceded by | C. Vidyasagar Rao |
Succeeded by | Ponnam Prabhakar |
Constituency | Karimnagar |
President of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi | |
In office 27 April 2001 –5 October 2022 | |
Working President | K. T. Rama Rao (from 15 December 2018) |
Preceded by | Office Established |
Succeeded by | Office Abolished |
15th Deputy Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly | |
In office 1999–2001 | |
Speaker |
|
Preceded by | N. Mohammed Farook |
Succeeded by | Koppula Harishwar Reddy |
Minister of Transport Government of Andhra Pradesh | |
In office 1 September 1995 –11 October 1999 | |
Governor | Krishan Kant Gopala Ramanujam C. Rangarajan |
Chief Minister | N. Chandrababu Naidu |
Preceded by | P. Chandrasekhar |
Succeeded by | Alimineti Madhava Reddy |
Minister of Drought &Relief Government of Andhra Pradesh | |
In office 1987–1988 | |
Governor | Kumudben Joshi |
Chief Minister | N. T. Rama Rao |
Member of Legislative Assembly Andhra Pradesh | |
In office 1985–2004 | |
Preceded by | Ananthula Madan Mohan |
Succeeded by | T. Harish Rao |
Constituency | Siddipet |
Personal details | |
Born | Chintamadaka,Hyderabad State,(present-day Telangana) India [2] | 17 February 1954
Political party | Bharat Rashtra Samithi (Since 2001) |
Other political affiliations | Indian National Congress (1980–1983) Telugu Desam Party (1983–2001) |
Spouse | K. Shobha |
Children | K. T. Rama Rao (son) K. Kavitha (daughter) |
Relatives | K. Himanshu Rao (grandchild) T. Harish Rao (nephew) Joginapally Santosh Kumar (nephew) |
Alma mater | Osmania University |
Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (born 17 February 1954),frequently known by his initials KCR,is an Indian politician currently representing the Gajwel Assembly constituency and serving as the leader of the opposition in the Telangana Legislative Assembly. [3] He is the founder and leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi,a state party in India. [4] [5] He was the first Chief Minister of Telangana after the formation of the state and held the position for almost 10 years. He was the leader of the Telangana Movement,the region's fight for a separate state. [6] [7]
Rao was born to Raghava Rao and Venkatamma on 17 February 1954 in Chintamadaka village,Hyderabad State (present-day Telangana). [2] He is of the Velama caste. [8] Rao has nine sisters and one elder brother. [9] He attained an MA degree in Telugu literature from Osmania University,Hyderabad. [10] [7]
Rao started his career with the Youth Congress in Medak. [6] He stood by Indira Gandhi even after her defeat in the 1977 Lok Sabha polls. [11]
In the 1983 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections,Rao contested as an independent candidate in the Siddipet Assembly constituency. He lost to Ananthula Madan Mohan,a Congress candidate and a person he considered as his "guru",by just 877 votes. [12] [6]
After the contest,in 1983,Rao joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). [13] He won four Assembly elections from Siddipet,consecutively,from 1985 to 1999. From 1987 to 1988,he served as the Minister of Drought &Relief in Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao's cabinet. In 1990,he was appointed TDP convener for Medak,Nizamabad,and Adilabad districts. In 1996,he served as Transport minister in Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet. [13] [14] He also served as the deputy speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly from 2000 to 2001. [11]
On 27 April 2001, Rao resigned from the Telugu Desam Party, leaving his position of Deputy Speaker as well. [15] He asserted that the people of the Telangana region were being discriminated against and believed that a separate state was the only solution. [16] The same day, he formed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Party (now called the Bharat Rashtra Samithi) at Jala Drushyam, Hyderabad to achieve Telangana statehood. [4] [15] In the 2004 elections, he won from Siddipet and also the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency by-election, both as a TRS candidate. The TRS fought the 2004 general elections in alliance with the Indian National Congress with a Promise of Congress Party to give Telangana State and Rao was one of the five TRS candidates who returned as MPs. [17] [18]
TRS was part of the United Progressive Alliance coalition government, led by Congress. Rao went on to become a Union Cabinet minister of Labour and Employment in the UPA government. [6] The party later withdrew from the coalition, saying that the Alliance was not minded to support a separate Telangana state. [19] [20] He has resigned as MP in 2006 on a challenge of Congress and won with a huge majority of more than 200,000 votes. Again he resigned as MP in agitation of Telangana movement and won with a minor majority. [21]
In 2009, Rao fought and won the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha elections. [22] In November 2009, he started a fast-unto-death, demanding the introduction of Telangana Bill in the Indian Parliament. After 11 days of beginning his fast, the Central Government said yes to Telangana as a separate state. [23] [20]
In 2014, Rao was elected as MLA from Gajwel with a majority of 19,391 and as MP from Medak with a majority of 397,029 on 16 May 2014. [24]
In Telangana, the TRS, which led the campaign for a separate State for more than a decade, emerged victorious by winning 11 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats and 63 of the 119 Assembly seats, and emerged as the party with the largest vote share. [25]
In May 2019, ahead of the 2019 Indian general election, Rao attempted to set up Federal Front along with leaders of other regional political parties. The Front's aim was to bring a non-Congress, non-BJP alliance to power at the Central Government of India. [26] [27]
In June 2022, Rao announced to float a national party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). [28] On 5 October 2022, at the day of Vijayadashami, he renamed his party to Bharat Rashtra Samithi on party's Executive Council Meeting.
Rao was sworn in as the first chief minister of the Telangana state on 2 June 2014. Rao, a staunch believer in astrology, numerology and vaastu, is reported to have fixed 12:57 PM for his inauguration as per the advice of priests to suit his lucky number 'six', since the sum of the digits at that time is six. [26] He was re-elected eight times as TRS president. [29] In September 2018, he dissolved the Telangana Legislative Assembly, nine months before its term ends to go for an early election, in a move that has been called a masterstroke. [30] [31] In December 2018, he was re-elected as Chief Minister for the second term, after winning the 2018 Telangana Legislative Assembly election by a big margin. [32]
Rao shaped the Telangana state to a high degree of development both economically and culturally, right from the formative years of the state since 2014. His welfare programs are aimed at reviving the rural economy and are focused on the development of each community. An intensive household survey, Samagra Kutumba Survey (SKS) was done in a single day on 19 August 2014 across the state to arrive at citizen information for rolling out welfare programs. The data collected pertaining to 94 parameters, covered one crore four lakh households in the State. [33]
Rao had revived the Telangana history, culture and festivals. The native festival Bathukamma, the festival of flowers and Shakti, was declared as a state festival. [34] In 2017, he declared Urdu to be the second official language of Telangana. [35] The government spent Rs. 1,200 crore for the expansion of the Yadadri temple. [36]
The Rao government has been described as populist, launching several welfare schemes. [37] [38] [39] [40]
Rao launched the Aarogya Lakshmi scheme on 1 January 2015. [41] [42] He launched multiple welfare schemes, such as the Double Bedroom Housing scheme, which aims to end slums in Telangana by providing free housing to the poor, the Kalyana Lakshmi - Shaadi Mubarak scheme, providing assistance to newlywed couples, the Rythu Bandhu scheme, providing assistance to farmers, and Aasara pension scheme, providing pensions to all senior citizens were also launched by the Rao government. [40] [43] [44] On August 16, 2021, he launched the Dalit Bandu Scheme. [45]
In the December 2023 Telangana Legislative elections, he contested from both Gajwel and Kamareddy constituencies. He won from Gajwel by defating Etela Rajender, a former member of his party, by 45553 votes. [46] In a major face-off, the two major candidates for the post of Chief Minister of Telangana KCR and Revanth Reddy were contesting against each other in the seat of Kamareddy. But in a major upset, they both lost to K. V. Ramana Reddy, a member of the BJP. [47] [48] [49] After his defeat to the Indian National Congress, he submitted his resignation on 3 December 2023 and Revanth Reddy formed the new ministry. [50]
KCR took on a new role as leader of the opposition in the Telangana Legislative Assembly after his defeat, on 16 December 2023. [51] Rao, who had previously stayed off social media, joined Twitter and Instagram on 27 April 2024, coinciding with his party's 23rd anniversary in an attempt to reach more people. [52] [53]
Rao is married to Shobha and has two children. [10] His son, K. T. Rama Rao is a legislator from Sircilla. He was the cabinet minister for IT, Municipal Administration & Urban Development in Telangana second assembly. His daughter, Kavitha, served as M.P. from Nizamabad and is currently serving as a Member of Legislative Council, Nizamabad. His nephew, Harish Rao, is MLA from Siddipet. He served as Telangana's cabinet minister for finance in second assembly of Telangana. He is proficient in Telugu, English, Urdu, and Hindi. [5] [54] He lives with his family at his farm house at Erravelli in Medak district. [55]
In 2015, Rao adopted Pratyusha, who was rescued from domestic violence. She was married in 2020. [56] [57]
In December 2023, he suffered a hip fracture after a fall at his farmhouse in Erravelli. He was admitted to Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad for treatment and was discharged after a week. [58] [59] [60]
Rao is a Gandhian. He has credited Gandhism, the teachings and ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, for inspiring him to follow a non-violent approach in his demands during the Telangana movement. [61] [62]
Rao has described Rahul Gandhi as the "biggest buffoon in the country". [63] [64] He has described Narendra Modi as the "most ineffective PM" in Indian history. [65]
Rao is follower of Sri Vaishnavism of Ramanuja, an ardent devotee of his guru Chinna Jeeyar and a strong believer of Hinduism and spirituality. [66] To heighten spiritual consciousness, KCR initiated the reconstruction and renovation of significant temples across Telangana, including Yadadri, Kondagattu, and Vemulawada, among others. [67] [68] [69] [70]
Rao gave lyrics for the song "Garadi chesthundru" from the film Jai Bolo Telangana (2011), and wrote a song in Kolimi (2015). [71] He also gave lyrics for songs to promote Mission Kakatiya and for his 2018 poll campaign. [72] [73]
Year | Contested For | Constituency | Opponent | Votes | Majority | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1983 | MLA | Siddipet | Ananthula Madan Mohan (INC) | 27,889–28,766 | – 887 | Lost |
2 | 1985 | T. Mahender Reddy (INC) | 45,215–29,059 | 16,156 | Won | ||
3 | 1989 | Ananthula Madan Mohan (INC) | 53,145–39,329 | 13,816 | Won | ||
4 | 1994 | 64,645–37,538 | 27,107 | Won | |||
5 | 1999 | Mushinam Swamy Charan (INC) | 69,169–41,614 | 27,555 | Won | ||
6 | 2001 By Polls | Mareddy Srinivas Reddy (TDP) | 82,632–23,920 | 58,712 | Won | ||
7 | 2004 | Jilla Srinivas (TDP) | 74,287–29,619 | 44,668 | Won | ||
8 | 2004 | MP | Karimnagar | Chennamaneni Vidyasagara Rao (BJP) | 451,199–320,031 | 131,168 | Won |
9 | 2006 By Polls | T. Jeevan Reddy (INC) | 378,030–176,448 | 201,582 | Won | ||
10 | 2008 By Polls | 269,452–153,687 | 115,765 | Won | |||
11 | 2009 | Mahabubnagar | Devarakonda Vittal Rao (INC) | 366,569–346,385 | 20,184 | Won | |
12 | 2014 | MLA | Gajwel | Pratap Reddy Vanteru (TDP) | 86,694–67,303 | 19,391 | Won |
13 | 2014 | MP | Medak | P. Shravan Kumar Reddy (INC) | 657,492–260,463 | 397,029 | Won |
14 | 2018 | MLA | Gajwel | Pratap Reddy Vanteru (INC) | 125,444–67,154 | 58,290 | Won |
15 | 2023 | MLA | Kamareddy | K Venkata Ramana Reddy (BJP) | 59,911-66,652 | -6,741 | Lost |
Gajwel | Etela Rajender (BJP) | 111,684-66,653 | 45,031 | Won |
The Telugu Desam Party is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao (N.T.R.) on 29 March 1982 and has focused on supporting Telugu speakers. The party has won a five-time majority in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the main opposition party in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi, formerly known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi, is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in the state of Telangana and currently the primary opposition party in the state. It was founded on 27 April 2001 by K. Chandrashekar Rao, with a single-point agenda of creating a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital. It has been instrumental in carrying forth a sustained agitation for the granting of statehood to Telangana.
Etela Rajender is an Indian politician from Telangana and former member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly. He served as the first Finance Minister of Telangana state from 2014 to 2018 and as the Health Minister of Telangana from 2019 to 2021.
Dr. Thatikonda Rajaiah is an Indian politician and medical practitioner. He has been serving as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Station Ghanpur assembly constituency since the year 2009, representing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi. In his political journey, Rajaiah started as a member of the Indian National Congress but later joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party to support the separate Telangana state movement. He was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana state with the Department of Health and Family Welfare on 2 June 2014 along with Md. Mohamood Ali.
The Telangana protests 2004-2010 refers to the movements and agitations related to the Telangana movement that took place between the years 2004 and 2010. For the 2004 Assembly and Parliament elections, the Congress party and the TRS had an electoral alliance in the Telangana region to consider the demand of separate Telangana State. However, again in 2006, the then Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy categorically said that the state would remain united. This again resulted in statewide protests. In 2009, Union Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram announced that the Indian government would start the process of forming a separate Telangana state, pending the introduction and passage of a separation resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly after an 11-day fast by K. Chandrashekar Rao. This again resulted in protests across both Andhra and Rayalseema as in a short time of the Home Minister's declaration, MLAs from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions submitted their resignations in protest.
Jupally Krishna Rao is an Indian politician and was Minister of Telangana. He was elected as MLA in the Telangana Legislative Assembly from Kollapuram and won elections 5 times. He lost in 2018 assembly elections.
Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar is an Indian politician and Member of Legislative Assembly in Telangana representing Telangana Rashtra Samithi a.k.a. T.R.S. and Government Chief Whip of Telangana State Legislative Assembly. He represents the Warangal West assembly constituency. He was also the Parliamentary Secretary in-charge of Chief Minister's Office (CMO) for TRS party during 2015.
Anumula Revanth Reddy is an Indian politician who is serving as the second and current Chief Minister of Telangana since 7 December 2023. He represents Kodangal constituency in the Telangana Legislative assembly. He belongs to the Indian National Congress (INC).
Gajwel Assembly constituency is a constituency of the Telangana Legislative Assembly, India. It is part of Medak Lok Sabha constituency. It is one of the 10 constituencies in erstwhile Medak district and is located around 64km from the state capital Hyderabad.
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee or (TPCC) is the state unit of the Indian National Congress (INC) in the state of Telangana, India. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates for local, state, and national elections. The current president of the Telangana PCC is Anumula Revanth Reddy. The committee has a long history of political influence in the united Andhra Pradesh state, however, it has faced challenges in recent years, including a decline in electoral support, particularly after the formation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014.
Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy is an Indian politician currently serving as a Minister for Revenue, Housing, Information and Public Relations in Government of Telangana, since 7 December 2023. Reddy represented Khammam Lok Sabha constituency between 2014-2019.
Mohammed Mahmood Ali is an Indian politician who was the Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana from 2014 until 2018. The departments of the State Home Ministry, Prisons and Fire Services were allocated to him during the 2nd K. Chandrasekhar Rao ministry, and he held them from 2018-2023. He is a member of Telangana Legislative Council.
The Indian state of Telangana was founded in 2014. Its territory had formerly been part of Andhra Pradesh. The Telangana movement was instrumental in the creation of the new state, and Telangana Rashtra Samithi, a party which led the Telangana movement after 2001, formed the government in the Telangana Legislative Assembly under Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. The political landscape of Telangana is dominated by the Indian National Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen being other significant forces.
The First K. Chandrashekar Rao ministry was the highest decision-making body of executive branch of the Government of Telangana, headed by the Chief Minister of Telangana. The 18-member cabinet is also its first, being sworn in by the Governor of Telangana on 2 June 2014, the day of the state's birth. It is headed by K. Chandrasekhar Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the first Chief Minister of Telangana.
Nayini Narsimha Reddy was an Indian politician. He served as the first Home Minister of Telangana from 2014 to 2018. He also took charge of portfolios including Prisons, Fire Services, Sainik Welfare, Labour and Employment. He was the Member of Legislative Council (MLC) of Telangana. He was the Senior Labour Leader in Telangana. A senior leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Reddy fought alongside K. Chandrashekar Rao for the statehood of Telangana.
The 2018 Telangana Legislative Assembly election was held on 7 December 2018 which marked the second electoral event since the state's formation in 2014. Key contenders included the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
The 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election was held on 30 November 2023 to elect all 119 members of Telangana Legislative Assembly for its third term. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 3 December 2023.
Teegala Krishna Reddy is an Indian politician, a former Member of Legislative Assembly and a former Mayor of Hyderabad, from Telangana state. He is currently in the Congress.
Prem Singh Rathore is an Indian politician from Hyderabad, Telangana. He is a BJP member who formerly represented Goshamahal Assembly constituency (Maharajgunj) in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, representing as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA earlier in his career as of 24 April 2024, he was appointed as Hyderabad Lok Sabha Co-ordinator (in-charge) and other surrounding constituencies.
Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy is an Indian politician and member of legislative assembly from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who represents Kamareddy constituency in the Telangana Legislative Assembly. In 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election he created History as he defeated both the incumbent Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and the then to-be-elected Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. He defeated his nearest rival, KCR, by 6741 votes.
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