K. Chandrashekar Rao
Founder of the TRS, now the BRS, who led the movement for a separate Telangana and served as the state’s first Chief Minister from 2014 to 2023.
- Based in
- Gajwel
- Region
- Telangana
Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, known as KCR, was born on 17 February 1954 in Chintamadaka, in present-day Telangana. He founded the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on 27 April 2001 to campaign for a separate state, and his hunger strike in November 2009 pushed the Centre to begin the process of statehood.
Before statehood he served as Union Minister for Labour and Employment from 2004 to 2006 and represented Karimnagar and later Mahbubnagar in the Lok Sabha. When Telangana was formed on 2 June 2014 he became its first Chief Minister, and he was re-elected in 2018. His governments introduced schemes such as Rythu Bandhu for farmers and Aasara pensions, and built the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, whose costs a later CAG report questioned.
The party was renamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi on 5 October 2022. After the Congress won the 2023 election he became Leader of the Opposition in the Telangana Assembly. He represents Gajwel.
Career
- 27 Apr 2001
Founded the Telangana Rashtra Samithi
Union Minister
Ports and Shipping briefly in May 2004; Labour and Employment, November 2004 to August 2006.
- 16 May 2009
Elected MP for Mahbubnagar
- 2 Jun 2014
First Chief Minister of Telangana
Re-elected in 2018; served until December 2023.
- 5 Oct 2022
TRS renamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi
- 16 Dec 2023
Leader of the Opposition, Telangana Assembly
Education
M.A. in Telugu Literature, Osmania University
Known for
- 2 Jun 2014
Statehood for Telangana
Led the movement from 2001 to the state’s formation.
Rythu Bandhu
Investment support for farmers.
