KCR calls for party executive meet on Feb 7

Hyderabad: In a sudden development, TRS president and Chief Minister
K. Chandrashekar Rao on Friday called for an emergency meeting of the party’s state executive committee on February 7, triggering widespread speculations within TRS as well as in wider political circles over a likely announcement, or at least a hint of, a widely anticipated possible change of guard in the state.

The TRS state executive committee meeting will be held at Telangana Bhavan, under the leadership of Mr Chandrashekar Rao.

All party leaders, including ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs, state committee members, state-level corporation chairpersons, zilla parishad chairpersons, mayors, municipal chairpersons, DCCB chairpersons and DCMS presidents have been invited to the meeting.

Although an official release from the TRS said that the meeting will discuss issues membership renewal, appointment of party committees from village-level to state-level, election of party president, arrangements for conduct of party’s annual plenary on April 27, besides other institutional issues of the party, it failed to douse speculations that CM Rao might hint at the elevation of his son and minister Rama Rao to the highest post in the state government.

The timing of the meeting being convened at such a short notice, of only two days, triggered speculations, though it is not uncommon for Mr Rao to convene the party’s executive committee meetings earlier too at a short notice. Normally, such executive committee meetings were held earlier during crucial elections like Assembly, Lok Sabha, GHMC polls or during the party’s annual conclave in April every year.

The TRS annual plenary is generally held in the last week of April, which is still over three months away. This left party leaders and cadre wondering about the need and urgency to convene an executive meeting to discuss arrangements for plenary in the first week of February itself. Besides, the membership drive and appointment of party committees will also be generally done only at the time of annual conclave in April.

The official release issued by the party fuelled further speculations by mentioning about “election of party president” and discussion on some “internal institutional issues” of the party. Party leaders are hoping and adding fire to the speculation that the party supremo might announce or drop hints about his stepping down from the chief ministerial post, or even as TRS chief post at the state executive committee meeting or formalise the elevation of his son as the Chief Minister and the party president.

Rumours also spread within the TRS on Friday that Chandrashekar Rao might also announce key organisational changes, such as appointing finance minister T. Harish Rao and health minister Etela Rajender as the party’s working presidents, besides giving a key position to his daughter and MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha, both in the party as well as in the government.