After a thumping win in the Telangana assembly elections, K. Chandrashekhar Rao took oath as the Chief Minister of India's youngest state for a second consecutive term today. The oath taking ceremony was held at 1.30 p.m. at Raj Bhavan. Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to KCR. Earlier on Wednesday, KCR was elected as the leader by newly elected TRS legislators at a meeting held at the Telangana Bhavan, the TRS headquarters. The TRS chief told reporters after the meeting that since the Election Commission has to issue a Gazette notification, the constitution of a full-fledged cabinet may take few days.
KCR also sent his resignation to the Governor to facilitate formation of the new government and his swearing-in. The TRS chief said he would try to give representation to all sections in the cabinet.
The state can have maximum 18 members in the cabinet due to the Constitutional restruction. He, however, felt that the cabinet size was proving insufficient and there was a need to increase the numbers.
A delegation of TRS leaders met the Governor and presented a resolution passed at the TRS Legislature Party meeting, unanimously electing KCR as its leader.
Earlier, Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar and Election Commission's Principal Secretary S.K. Rudola met the Governor and submitted the list of newly elected legislators.
TRS has bagged 88 seats in the 119-member Assembly in the elections held on December 7.
With the emphatic victory of the TRS, the party he founded with the sole aim of realising the decades-old dream of a separate Telengana, Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, 64, has reinforced his position as the tallest leader of the youngest state of the Indian union. The victory in the assembly elections, the first in Telangana after its formation in June 2014, might well act as a springboard for the leader, often accused of perpetuating family rule and promoting nepotism, to realise his ambition of playing a greater role in national politics.
KCR: The little known Congress foot soldier who became mascot of Telangana pride
From living a life of near anonymity as a Congress foot soldier to becoming the mascot of Telangana pride who brought down the then mighty Congress to its knees and wrested statehood, K Chandrasekhar Rao has navigated the choppy waters of politics with the adroitness of a masterful oarsman.
KCR's suave and sophisticated son K T Rama Rao, a minister in his cabinet, is his heir apparent, while his daughter K Kavitha is Lok Sabha MP from Nizamabad. His nephew Harish Rao is also a minister.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, has been one of the votaries of a broad-based non-BJP and non-Congress federal front, and the win would further fortify his position as a regional satrap.
Rao's decision to dissolve the House in September, several months before its tenure was to end, and go for an early election, is being seen as a masterstroke, as national issues might have overshadowed those of the state if simultaneous elections were held for the Lok Sabha and the state assembly.
A canny politician that he is, Rao was first off the blocks when he announced the names of 105 candidates for the 119-member assembly barely a couple of hours after recommending its dissolution.
TRS nominees hit the ground running and the gamble paid off.
Rao retained a majority of his MLAs, leaving some of the ticket hopefuls dejected, but he managed to silence whimpers of protest and keep his flock together.
The TRS supremo whipped up the issue of 'Telangana pride' by repeatedly targeting his former boss and AndhraPradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, accusing him of having stalled the development of Telangana and calling him an outsider.
(With agency inputs)
