Hyderabad: As top leaders and thousands of delegates were gathering for the 14th plenary of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) in Khammam city on Wednesday, state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has put a seal of finality on the position of his son K. Taraka Rama Rao as the heir apparent by allocating some more significant portfolios to him.
The reshuffle in the portfolios of several ministers has also confirmed that KCR, as the chief minister is popularly known, was sidelining other powerful figure in the party from his family, namely T. Harish Rao, to make the imminent elevation of his son as his successor a smooth affair.
KCR has divested Harish Rao of the important mining portfolio and handed it over to KTR, who has now emerged as the number two in the state cabinet.
While Harish Rao will now have only the irrigation portfolio, KTR will be running all the key financial ministries including industry, commerce, public enterprises, mining and geology in addition to urban development and municipal administration and information technology.
Jupally Krishna Rao has lost his industries portfolio to KTR.
Talasani Srinivas Yadav has lost his commercial taxes portfolio to the chief minister, who has also taken over the ministry for rural drinking water supply.
Though it was never a secret KCR was grooming his US-educated son to be his successor, his rapid rise in importance in the cabinet is a clear signal to other leaders in the party to fall in line and acknowledge the future leader.
Though Harish Rao, KCR’s nephew, never staked a claim on party leadership, it is a known fact that the two new-gen leaders have a comfortable equation. Unlike KTR, who entered active politics after completing his education in the US, Harish Rao was with KCR like his shadow ever since he launched the TRS in 2001 and worked hard to strengthen the party.
KCR publicly praised Harish Rao for his services in the party and the government but finally the blood proved thicker than other factors and it is now clear that KTR would eventually succeed his father.
Many loyalists of Harish Rao were shocked by the fact that he was divested of the mining portfolio and feared further schism in the party.
But KCR’s daughter and Member of Parliament, K Kavita, denied any such problem. “Both KTR and Harish are equal and the same for the TRS,”, she said stressing that all the leaders of the party were working to achieve the goal of Golden Telangana. She said it was not correct to attribute motives to cabinet reshuffle.
Another senior minister, Tummala Nageshwara Rao, had created ripples recently when he declared he will not support KTR as successor to KCR as he was against family rule.
Meanwhile, Khammam, once a citadel of the Left, was painted pink for TRS plenary, which is expected to be attended by more than 4,000 delegates from across the state. KCR and other leaders will address a public meeting in the evening.
The entire city was decked up with colourful arches, cutouts, flexies and flags by the TRS rank and file and the pink was the dominant colour.
Party general secretary K. Keshav Rao said the plenary will pass 15 resolutions covering various programmes, schemes, policies and initiatives of the two-year-old government in the state.
One of the resolutions will highlight the fact that the state has become free from power cuts bringing huge relief to the people in the face of worst heatwave in recent memory.
The plenary will also discuss the drought situation in the state, Keshav Rao said.
