For TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, the metamorphosis from being the leader of separate statehood agitation by starting of with only a handful of supporters in 2001 to security majority on his own and occupying the Chief Minister's chair in Telangana today is complete.
The 60-year-old KCR, as he is popularly known, is now set to guide the destiny of over four crore Telangana people in his capacity as the first Chief Minister of India's 29th state, carved out of Andhra Pradesh.
Rao is now hailed as the tallest leader in Telangana and credited with achieving the separate state despite being the only MP for his party in the previous Lok Sabha (his MP colleague Vijayashanti turned a rebel following differences with him and joined the Congress days before the elections).
KCR was a TDP leader and a former minister, when he quit the N Chandrababu Naidu-led party in 2001 and formed the outfit to fight for separate Telangana.
The separate Telangana issue was not an innovative idea, though it never lost the undercurrent of support among people, as veteran leaders like M Chenna Reddy had fought for the cause albeit unsuccessfully.
Not many expected KCR to make it big as seasoned politicians like Naidu, who was Chief Minister, and late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy were around.
However, KCR built the agitation all over again though his party could not spread it to the entire region not long ago.
The party, however, made inroads in several areas where it did not have much of a presence.
