Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, frequently known by his initials KCR, is an Indian politician currently representing the Gajwel Assembly constituency and serving as the leader of the opposition in the Telangana Legislative Assembly. He is the founder and leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, a state party in India.

Early Life

Chandrashekar Rao was born to Raghava Rao and Venkatamma on 17 February 1954 in Chintamadaka village, Hyderabad State (present-day Telangana). He is of the Velama caste. Rao has nine sisters and one elder brother. He attained an MA degree in Telugu literature from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Early Political Career

Telugu Desam Party

In 1983, Rao joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) but was defeated by A. Madan Mohan in the election. He won four consecutive Assembly elections from Siddipet 1985 and 1999. From 1987 to 1988, he served as the Minister of Drought & Relief in Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao's cabinet. In 1990, he was appointed TDP convener for Medak, Nizamabad, and Adilabad districts. In 1996, he served as Transport minister in Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet. He also served as the deputy speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly from 2000 to 2001.

Chief Minister of Telangana (2014–2023)

KCR was sworn in as the first chief minister of the Telangana state at 12:57 pm on 2 June 2014. Rao, a staunch believer in astrology, numerology and Vaastu, is reported to have fixed this time for his inauguration as per the advice of priests to suit his lucky number 'six'. Rao was re-elected eight times as TRS president. In September 2018, Rao dissolved the Telangana Legislative Assembly, nine months before its term ends to go for an early election. In December 2018, Rao was re-elected as Chief Minister for the second term, after winning the 2018 Telangana Legislative Assembly election.

National Politics

In May 2019, ahead of the 2019 Indian general election, KCR attempted to set up Federal Front along with leaders of other regional political parties. The Front's aim was to bring a non-Congress, non-BJP alliance to power at the Central Government of India.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi

In June 2022, KCR announced to float a national party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). On 5 October 2022, at the day of Vijayadashami, KCR renamed his party to Bharat Rashtra Samithi on party's Executive Council Meeting.

Personal Life

Rao is married to Shobha and has two children. His son, K. T. Rama Rao is a legislator from Sircilla. He was the cabinet minister for IT, Municipal Administration & Urban Development in Telangana second assembly. His daughter, Kavitha, served as M.P. from Nizamabad and is currently serving as a Member of Legislative Council, Nizamabad. His nephew, Harish Rao, is MLA from Siddipet. He served as Telangana's cabinet minister for finance in second assembly of Telangana. Rao is proficient in Telugu, English, Urdu, and Hindi. He lives with his family at his farm house at Erravelli in Medak district. In 2015, Rao adopted Pratyusha, who was rescued from domestic violence. She got married in 2020.

Views

Rao is a Gandhian. He has credited Mahatma Gandhi's ideology for inspiring him in his non-violent Telangana movement. Rao has described Rahul Gandhi as the "biggest buffoon in the country". He has described Narendra Modi as the "most ineffective PM" in Indian history.

Rao is follower of Sri Vaishnavism of Ramanuja, an ardent devotee of his guru Chinna Jeeyar and a strong believer of Hinduism and spirituality. To heighten spiritual consciousness, KCR initiated the reconstruction and renovation of significant temples across Telangana, including Yadadri, Kondagattu, and Vemulawada, among others.

Other Work

Rao gave lyrics for the song "Garadi chesthundru" from the film Jai Bolo Telangana (2011), and wrote a song in Kolimi (2015). He also gave lyrics for songs to promote Mission Kakatiya and for his 2018 poll campaign.

Awards

• Popular Choice Award at CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2014
• Agricultural leadership award 2017
• Economic Times Awards – Business reformer of the year 2018