KT Rama Rao to oversee TRS’ GHMC fight

Hyderabad: TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has reportedly made IT minister K.T. Rama Rao overall in-charge for the upcoming GHMC elections given his proximity to various elite sections of Hyderabad.

While there was no official word so far on this, TRS sources confirmed that Mr Rama Rao would be overseeing the party’s campaign and publicity strategy for the GHMC polls. Though the municipal administration ministry is being looked after by the Chief Minister himself, Mr Rama Rao has been involved in departmental works recently, reviewing the progress of the Godavari Water project works.

TRS MLC Palla Rajeswara Reddy told this newspaper on Saturday, “The CM will be appointing party in-charges for each of the 150 divisions very soon; KTR will be the overall in-charge of the party’s publicity in view of his connect to some sections of the society in the capital region; he is already on the job.”

Party sources added that the CM was very particular about completing GHMC polls before the January 31, 2016, deadline set by the HC and instructed officials to conduct the polls in the third week of January. Due to his preoccupations with the arrangements of the Ayutha Chandiyagam at his farmhouse in December, and the upcoming MLC polls from local bodies, Mr Rao had decided to entrust the GHMC polls to Mr Rama Rao.

“This was to project an urban face for the GHMC polls, especially to attract the youths of the city,” said a source.

After posting a huge win in Warangal, it has become imperative for the TRS to win GHMC polls. It had won only two out of 24 Assembly seats in the GHMC area in the last elections.

Besides Mr Rama Rao, the four ministers from the city and the remaining ministers will be made in-charges for the Assembly constituencies within the GHMC area. R&B minister Tummala Nageswara Rao might be made responsible for the Serilingampally-Kukatpally Assembly segments due to the presence of several lakhs of Seemandhra voters with whom he has a connect.