The support for Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandrasekhar Rao as Chief Minister of Telangana is growing within the party from Scheduled Caste candidates who contested the Assembly elections.
This is being viewed as an attempt to overcome the hurdle Mr. Rao is facing from becoming the Chief Minister since he has already announced that he will make an SC leader for the top post.
On Sunday, SC candidates K.S. Ratnam, Rasamai Balkishan and Gajjela Nagesh demanded that Mr. Rao be made Chief Minister and, on Monday, it was the turn of another candidate T. Rajaiah.
The leaders have taken the stand that the development of Telangana is possible only with Mr. Rao as he has a complete understanding of the problems of the region. The new State requires an efficient leader like Mr. Rao at the helm, they observed.
Mr. Rao had made public announcements for several years that he would make an SC person the Chief Minister and a Muslim the Deputy Chief Minister. The TRS president had also named contesting candidates like K. Harishwar Reddy, Konda Surekha and Koppula Eashwar as would-be Ministers during his election campaign. However, TRS sources said Mr. Rao had not given any thought to government formation, much less the Ministers. “He will work on it only after declaration of the results,” sources said.
Meanwhile, candidates and TRS supporters turned up in large numbers at Mr. Rao’s residence here after he returned from his farmhouse on Sunday evening. Some other candidates are holidaying with families in Bangalore, Ooty, Kerala and other places after the hectic campaign.
Mr. Rao had a word of comfort for most of the visitors that they would win the polls. He based his observation on the public response and specific issues that came to his notice when he addressed rallies in their respective constituencies.
Meets Chinajeer SwamyMeanwhile, the TRS president, accompanied by his wife, visited the ashram of spiritual leader Chinajeer Swamy at Muchintal near Shamshabad on Monday. The couple took the blessings of the Swamy and saw the functioning of the spiritual education and service wings within the premises. A special puja was performed for them.
