in no time, KT Rama Rao became face of TRS

Hyderababd: Nearly a decade of constantly making his way upwards, K.T. Rama Rao ends the year at the threshold of the top job in the state that is widely stated to be his. A day after party president K. Chandrasekhar Rao took oath as Chief Minister, he elevated Mr Rama Rao as TRS working president, giving the clearest indication of things to come.

If all goes according to plan, Mr Rama Rao, 42, may step into his father’s shoes in the near future.

Mr Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao entered politics in 2006, soon after his return to India after quitting a job in the US. He became an MLA in 2009 from Sircilla, and has won four times since. 

He quickly became the face of the party. If Mr T. Harish Rao was everywhere during Mr Chandrasekhar Rao’s fast, Mr Rama Rao had broken into the limelight during the time of the Million March a few years later.

Since then, Mr Rama Rao has handled the more public assignments. After the TRS formed government in 2014, he became the go-to person for the people by becoming the party’s voice on Twitter.

He was the lightning rod for the people’s ire over bad road in the city, he was the one who arranged for money for medical treatment of a child in remote village. He has not only lent a patient ear, he has also insisted quite tersely that citizens bore a responsibility to society and in maintenance of infrastructure.

After being made the working president, he told the media, “Being the son of Mr Chandrasekhar Rao, I can have a pass only to have an entry into the party, but I have to prove my mettle which I already proved during the GHMC elections and also by winning 18 seats out of 29 seats in the recent elections for which I was made in charge by the party president.”

He added another notch to his belt by spearheading a thumping victory by winning 99 wards out of the 150 in the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections in 2016. More ominously, the Congress, Telugu Desam and the BJP were reduced to sub-five figures in the elections. This was as clear a sign as could be of the things to come.

Mr Rama Rao proved this was not a fluke win by leading the charge to win 18 Assembly segments out of 29 segments in the December 7 elections, for which he was made incharge. It was as much a reflection of the TRS taking root as Mr Rama Rao overseeing the shift in power equations.

In the first term, Mr Rama Rao held the portfolios of municipal administration and urban development and information technology in the Cabinet. As IT minister, he was in the forefront of furthering the brand image of Hyderabad, including sharing the credit for the ‘I Love Hyd’ urban signage as well as overseeing music groups performing in the city.

He was instrumental in creating the T-Hub and also TS-iPASS, the industrial policy that is widely acknowledged as having attracted industry to the state and more specifically Hyderabad. Given his work experience in the US, it was also felt that there was none better than him to speak to investors from across the globe, including majors like Apple, Google and Boeing.

For the political leaders, masses and party workers, he spoke their language as well, being well versed in Telugu, Urdu, Hindi and English.

So when he becomes Chief Minister of Telangana Mr Rama Rao will have earned his spurs.