K. Chandrashekar Rao, commonly known by his initials KCR, is an Indian statesman who has held the position of the inaugural and incumbent Chief Minister of Telangana since the 2nd of June 2014. He is the visionary behind the formation of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, a regional political party within the country.
Bio/Wiki
Age-69years
Height- 173 cm
Weight-75kg
Born-17 February 1954
Birthplace- Chintamadaka
Full name-Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao
Profession-Politician
Spouse-Shobha Rao (m. 1969)
Nationality-Indian
Party-Bharat Rashtra Samithi
Education- Osmania University College of Arts and Social Sciences
Parents
K Chandrashekar Rao, born to Raghav Rao and Venkatamma in the village of Chinthamadaka, located in the Medak District of India, is the second youngest among his siblings. Hailing from the Padmanayaka Velama community, his family comprises 9 sisters and one older brother.
Wife
On April 23, 1969, KCR married to Shobha Rao.
Children
He has two children, His son, K. T. Rama Rao, holds a legislative position in Sircilla and is entrusted with the role of a cabinet minister overseeing IT, Municipal Administration, and Urban Development. His daughter, Kavitha, previously represented Nizamabad in the capacity of an M.P. and presently occupies the position of a Member of the Legislative Council for Nizamabad since 2020. Among his relatives, his nephew Harish Rao is the elected representative for Siddipet and holds the position of the state’s finance minister in Telangana’s cabinet.
Education
He achieved a master’s degree in Telugu literature from Osmania University, Hyderabad.
Career
Early Political Career
Rao initiated his professional journey with the Youth Congress Party within the boundaries of Medak district.
In 1983, Rao became a member of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and contested against A. Madan Mohan in an election, unfortunately not securing victory. However, he went on to secure triumph in four consecutive Assembly elections from Siddipet, spanning from 1985 to 1999. He took on the role of Minister of Drought & Relief within Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao’s cabinet from 1987 to 1988. In the capacity of TDP convener, he assumed responsibility for Medak, Nizamabad, and Adilabad districts in 1990. Subsequently, in 1996, he functioned as the Transport Minister within Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s administration. His contributions extended to his role as the deputy speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, which he held between 2000 and 2001.
Telangana movement
On April 27, 2001, Rao resigned from his post as Deputy Speaker and also parted ways with the TDP Party,He voiced his concern over the alleged discrimination faced by the people of the Telangana region and firmly advocated for the establishment of a separate state. It was in April 2001 that he established the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Party, later renamed Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi, at Jala Drushyam in Hyderabad. This move was motivated by the aspiration to attain statehood for Telangana. During the 2004 elections, Rao triumphed in both the Siddipet state assembly constituency and the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency, both as a TRS candidate. TRS aligned with the Indian National Congress in the 2004 general elections with the promise of supporting Telangana Statehood. Rao was among the five TRS candidates who secured seats in the Parliament.
TRS joined the United Progressive Alliance coalition government led by the Congress party. He went on to serve as a Union Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment in the United Progressive Alliance government. TRS later withdrew from the coalition due to the perceived lack of support for a separate Telangana state. He resigned as an MP in 2006 to contest and won again with a substantial majority of over 200,000 votes. He repeated this feat during the Telangana movement, resigning once more and securing victory with a narrower margin.
In 2009, Rao triumphed in the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha elections. In November 2009, he commenced a hunger strike, demanding the introduction of the Telangana Bill in the Indian Parliament. After an 11-day fast, the Central Government consented to the creation of Telangana as a distinct state.
The TRS party participated in the general elections as part of an opposition coalition led by TDP. In 2014, Rao emerged victorious in the Gajwel Assembly Constituency of Medak District in Telangana State with a significant majority of 19,218 votes. Additionally, he secured a victory as an MP from Medak with an impressive margin of 397,029 votes on May 16, 2014.
Chief Minister of Telangana
on June 2, 2014, KCR was officially sworn in as the inaugural Chief Minister of Telangana. His strong belief in astrology, numerology, and Vaastu led him to select this precise time for his inauguration, guided by the advice of priests, in alignment with his fortunate number ‘six’. Over time, Rao’s commitment to his political party remained unwavering, as he was re-elected as TRS president on eight occasions. In September 2018, Rao made the decision to dissolve the Telangana Legislative Assembly, a full nine months ahead of its scheduled term, opting for an early election. Subsequently, in December 2018, Rao achieved re-election as Chief Minister for his second term, securing victory in the 2018 Telangana Legislative Assembly election.
Welfare schemes
The Aarogya Lakshmi scheme was introduced on January 1, 2015, while the Double Bedroom Housing scheme was also initiated. This scheme targets the eradication of slums in Telangana by furnishing free housing to those in need. Other notable initiatives like the Kalyana Lakshmi – Shaadi Mubarak scheme, which aids newlywed couples, the Rythu Bandhu scheme, providing support to farmers,and the Aasara pension scheme, offering pensions to senior citizens, were implemented by the Rao administration. On August 16, 2021, the Dalit Bandu Scheme was inaugurated under his leadership.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi
During June 2022, KCR unveiled his intention to establish a nationwide political party named Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Subsequently, on October 5, 2022, which coincided with the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami, KCR officially rebranded his party as Bharat Rashtra Samithi during a gathering of the party’s Executive Council.
Achievement/Awards
- In 2014, he received the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Popular Choice Award
- In 2017, he was honored with the Agricultural Leadership Award. Additionally
- In 2018, he was recognized as the Business Reformer of the Year at the Economic Times Awards.
Net Worth 2023
Chandrashekar Rao, the Chief Minister of Telangana, possesses assets exceeding Rs. 23 crores, with liabilities amounting to Rs. 8 crores.
Latest News About K. Chandrashekar Rao
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in power has unveiled its initial list of candidates, a few months ahead of the impending assembly elections in Telangana scheduled for later this year. The changes made to the list are limited, and most of the existing MLAs have been retained.
“We hold a strong belief in securing 95 to 105 seats,” declared K Chandrashekar Rao, who aims for a third consecutive victory in the southern state. He made this announcement while revealing the names of candidates for all 119 constituencies.
KCR, who currently represents Gajwel in the state assembly, will be expanding his electoral reach this time by also contesting from Kamareddy. The BRS’s Gampa Govardhan, who has won the Kamareddy election for four successive terms (2009, 2011, 2014, and 2018), will be facing competition from KCR.
It’s important to note that KCR emphasized the ongoing alliance between the BRS and the AIMIM, led by Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
This strategic move is perceived as KCR’s attempt to gain an early advantage. In the 2018 state elections, he surprised his opponents by advancing the election schedule.
The main opposition party in the state, the Congress, has just initiated the process of candidate selection. The party has opened applications from August 18 to 25.KCR is pinning his hopes on an extensive push towards social welfare initiatives. His party has criticized the Congress by claiming that, if they came into power, they would revoke the scheme that offers free electricity to farmers.
In the previous election, four opposition parties that were erstwhile rivals – Congress, Telangana Jana Samithi, Telugu Desam Party, and CPI – united under the banner of ‘Maha Kootami’ (Grand Alliance) to defeat the then incumbent Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now BRS), but they fell short of securing a majority.
It’s worth noting that KCR opted for early elections in 2018 by resigning nine months before his term’s completion. Since no party held a majority, the governor dissolved the assembly, leading to general elections. In the last election, TRS won 88 seats, Congress 19, AIMIM 7, TDP 2, and the BJP secured one seat.
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