For him, posts don’t matter nor do privileges. When he is on a mission, the only thing that matters to him is achieving the result. He is Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), the Chief Minister of Telangana, who turned from an aggressive agitator to an able administrator.
Political power is most precious for any politician. No politician will dare enough to resign from their post however strong the situation may arise. But, KCR is cut from a different cloth. For the statehood of Telangana, KCR resigned from his position thrice, once as an MLA and twice as an MP. Other than these, he also sacrificed his positions of Deputy Speaker and Union Minister, all for one cause – to make the long-cherished dream of Telangana a reality.
In 2001, to launch a political party – Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) with a single-point agenda to achieve statehood for Telangana, KCR resigned from his posts of Deputy Speaker of AP Legislative Assembly and MLA of Siddipet. In 2006 and 2008, to mount pressure on the then UPA government which was delaying the formation of Telangana, KCR resigned as MP of Karimnagar. In subsequent by-elections held after his resignations, KCR always triumphed with a handsome majority. These victories display the public faith KCR earned as a leader of the Telangana movement.
Not just these plum posts, KCR didn’t even hesitate to sacrifice his life for the state. His fast-unto-death for Telangana in November 2009 will go down into the annals of history as a turning point in the Telangana movement. As an agitator during the statehood movement or as an administrator after the formation of the state, KCR and Telangana are always inseparable. He has done something that no Indian politician has ever done. This makes KCR, a class apart.