Telangana elections: Will there be a change of guard in the TRS?

Hyderabad, Sep 18: The recent statement by T Harish Rao that he is ready to work in Rama Rao's cabinet has set of a chain of speculations about whether K Chandrashekar Rao would continue as the Chief Minister of Telangana if voted back to power.

There has been talk for sometime that KCR may hand over the reigns to his son K T Rama Rao or KTR. The statement by Harish Rao coupled with KCR's own statement that he would play a key role in national politics has given ample reason for many to suspect that KTR would take over from his father.

KTR has played a key role in the government and has been very active. He had in fact conducted the Pragathi Nivedana Sabha at Kongarakalan.

Sources say that there is no clear indication whether KCR would hand over the reigns immediately. A lot would depend on how the party performs at both the state and national level.

KCR has for sometime shown keen interest in national politics. A couple of months back, he had tried to stitch up an alternative front. He has also been seen a lot in Delhi and recently there were even speculations that he may back the BJP.

The elections in Telangana would however be fought in KCR's name. He is the chief ministerial candidate and there is no change in that. A lot would depend on the elections in 2019 and how many seats the TRS could bag. If KCR finds a suitable role for him in the national scenario, then there is a likelihood that may appoint his son as the CM of TS in case they win, while he would move to Delhi.

KCR had dissolved the assembly recently and called for early elections. One of the main reasons for this decision was because he wanted to give his focus individually to both elections. Had he not dissolved the assembly Telangana would have gone in for simultaneous polls in 2019.

KCR felt that if simultaneous polls were held then issues could be mixed up and there would not be individual focus. While he is confident of winning the state polls easily, KCR would want to win big in the Lok Sabha polls.

There are 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana of which the TRS holds a whopping 12. KCR would look to better than performance and is aiming at at least 15 LS seats. If he is able to achieve that number and the BJP falls short in 2019, he would be a key player.