Victories of KTR, 40 Years birthday celebrations,KTR Birthday story

At a time when politics was full of maverick oldies with mere politicking-centric approach and vengeance, the Telangana movement refreshingly gave birth to a soft, educated, development-oriented leader. Braving an uncertain political future and leaving a cushy career in the dreamland, the young leader swung into the movement with a mountain of determination, weathered many a rough storm and proved himself as a highly promising leader for the youngest state in the country.

Exactly a decade ago (during the by-elections for Karimnagar Parliamentary seat) the 30-year-old Kalvakuntla Taraka Ramarao (KTR) took up cudgels on behalf of his father and metamorphosed as a matured leader. He is celebrating his 40th birthday today and we wish the leader a very happy birthday! Many returns of the day for the Minister for IT; Municipal Administration & Urban Development; Industries & Commerce; Public Enterprises; Sugar; Mines & Geology and NRI Affairs, Govt. of Telangana.

Many sons and daughters of top class politicians grabbed the centre stage of politics by basking in the glory of their dads but KTR can’t be clubbed in the club. Because, it was not the bed of roses when he stepped into the mass movement that faced a lot of threats and jolts from the staunch supports of the united Andhra Pradesh. He plunged into the ocean of politics when it was full of dangerous sharks and treacherous undercurrents with a strong belief that separate State is a highly reasonable demand and it should be fought tooth and nail. Majority of media houses were dead against Telangana idea and a section of separatists always suspected his intentions due to dynastic and political reasons.Here are four key achievements of KTR in his decade-long journey.

1) Succour to Settlers:

The rabble-rousing Telangana leaders created scare against those people from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions who settled in Hyderabad and they loosely coined a word ‘settlers’ much to the chagrin of many. Top TRS leaders used to threaten these ‘settlers’ but KTR was the one who could create a feeling of security among them in unequivocal terms. “Don’t worry. We are also settlers. We give you protection,” was the oft-repeated message given by KTR and the fears that the settlers would be harmed in retaliation after the formation of the new state were thankfully dispelled. “Young leaders like KTR could instil confidence among people of every region here. Creation of a positive environment was the need of the hour and KTR has been in forefront in doing so. It is a good sign of a matured politician,” an analyst rightly pointed out.

2) Improved IT:

Ministerial berth to KTR didn’t surprise many as he earned it through his highly committed fight in the movement. What surprised many is, KTR’s ability to switch the gears to fully focus on the development of the new State. People were under the impression that IT, whose poster boy was the TDP Chandrababu Naidu, is a thing of the past and many companies may back out from Hyderabad. Proving the doubting Thomas’ wrong, KTR took IT two new levels with initiatives such as IT Hub for start-ups. A lot of companies are coming forward to associate with the new State thanks to the positive energy brought in by KTR and his team.

“KTR’s contribution to IT is phenomenal. He successfully implemented the management skills he learnt as the Sales Director of a company in Telangana governance. His keen interest in IT augurs well for the State,” another senior journalist said.

3) GHMC elections:

Elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was a real litmus test for KTR and he could prove himself as a mass leader with wonderfl poll management. His whirlwind tours and the right kind of issues he raised worked wonders and the TRS created history by winning 99 seats in GHMC elections and now KTR fully focused to fix the battered roads and dirty lanes of the city of pearls.

“The so called settlers accepted KTR because of his repeated assurances and they saw him as a development-centric leader. His oratory skills too helped the party to register a resounding victory. KTR matches his father’s presentation skills and in some ways he improvised his oratory to impress the young audience,” a reporter covering TRS beat for a long time said.

4) Healthy politics:

Off late KTR learnt an important lesson in politics. KCR was known for his acerbic comments against his opponents but KTR, in contrast, mellowed down his comments against political opponents. He hardly uses objectionable statements to pin down his erring opponents to score a point or two. Theme-based criticism may give an impression that he is too soft to deal with political opponents but it has multiplying impact on his reputation.

Addressing a national level workshop organized in the city recently, KTR said: “It is unfortunate that entire focus of politicians is on winning next elections. With this obsession we lose sight of what we are expected to do for the people. If politicians shed the obsession on the next election, they can perform well.”
Political intelligence dawned on the 40-year-old politician that is something we all should cheer about.

Rarely we find out quotations in the twitter handle of KTR, the birthday boy. Two days before his birthday, KTR posted the quote of a sensational young writer LR Knost. This quote precisely sums up KTR’s persona.

“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between amazing and the awful, its ordinary and mundane and routine. Breath in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. and it’s breathtakingly beautiful.”