Asserting that political parties should be there for the people and not the other way round, he said: “It should Horse for the (race) course, not course for the horse.”
On stopping short of one seat to hitting the mark of century, he said with a quirky smirk on his face: “People remember this.Sir Don Bradman averaged 99 in his career, not 100.”
That was Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao, who barely managed to win Sircilla seat in Karimnagar district with a wafer thin margin, had seemed immature, wannabe and full of himself replete with emotion and commotion.
It was during his maiden election. Years rolled, not many, though.
Now, the scion of Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao’s family comes across as the most composed, immaculate and balanced person, an astute politician and a well-mannered human being with well manicured new age politics.
Yes. In fact, these adjectives do not summarise him completely.
He chose to utilise the first TV op to make the most. Sunday afternoon, when every other Telugu channel was airing talk shows by doctors on cancer, psoriasis, vericose veins, and gout, the channel with the largest TRPs did what it has always been the best at.The typical burden of carrying the Telugu Desam Party on its shoulders, which was seen as its hidden agenda for long, has disappeared, much to the channel’s own mental relief, at least as far as Teangana is concerned. For, the TDP was trampled under their feet by Hyderabadis in the GHMC elections.
It was TV9’s moment of glory too to have KTR in its studio fielding questions of Murali Krishna, the channels political editor, and parallelly the TV audience too. As if to add a dash of fun and glamour, the TV channel got son of minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Kartik Reddy (son of Former Home Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy) on phone lines – just as if they called themselves- and Movie Artistes Association Rajendra Prasad on live video to speak to KTR.
When the TV channel played the title song of Jr NTR-starrer “Naannaku Prematho” (to dad, with love) with a pic of KTR presenting the throne of GHMC to his father KCR, the minister tried to tuck his proud smile by cupping his mouth with his hand.While responding to queries with a great elan amid sipping black tea, KTR demoed his dexterity. Undoubtedly, he is a man with information on his finger tips.
When a teacher from a Model School in Nirmal from Adilabad district drew his attention to a problem of his losing employment, the minister was quick to say the school set up was a scheme of the UPA Government and it was eventually scrapped by the NDA regime. Though the minister did not give any assurance, he asserted that he would look into the matter sympathetically.
When an Ayurveda Unani Siddha and Homoeopathy doctor offered some suggestions, the minister told him he would call the doctor for a discussion when the Cabinet sub-committee led by Health Minister Lakshma Reddy would meet.
KTR sounded committed when he wanted to relax the conditions for regularising illegal constructions for some time and finally sealing off such an opportunity forever. There will no longer be such a window for discipline in construction to fall through the cracks. He said the government would take control of the complete portions of such illegal constructions.
On another suggestion that GHMC and Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) be merged for functional collaboration, KTR was quick to respond that it would be taken seriously and that the GHMC Commissioner B Janardhan Reddy was already the head of both bodies. This is one step in that direction.
When Centre for Good Governance Convener Padmanabha Reddy came up with a charter of demands, including implementation of citizens’ charter, the minister invited him for an exclusive meet.The alacrity with which KTR renewed his answer that he did not have the greed to step into the shoes of his dad KCR, and that his hands and those of his cousin and Irrigation minister T Harish Rao were so much full that they didn’t have time to think of these things proved his political correctness.
If his sister and Nizamabad MP Kavita said that her brother was his father’s heir, he just brushed it aside as her wishful thinking.
KCR is hale and hearty and would continue to lead for next 20 years easily, he said.KTR’s well-oiled election machinery proved that he is the man for all seasons. His multi-pronged strategy, the urbane persona, coupled with a pro-poor heart, makes this yet-to-be 40-year old darling of all sections. A video in YouTube in which he used foul language against a police official some years ago is, however, long forgotten.