One thing that is clear from the TRS plenary held on Wednesday is that the TRS pantheon now has just two icons – firstly Chief Minister KCR and party’s working president KTR. The other icons such as Kavitha Kalwakuntla, Harish Rao and Rajya Sabha MP Joginpally Santosh Kumar are only occasionally seen. This complete eclipse of these three leaders is indication that the party cadre now know who matters in the TRS.
Earlier, whenever the party leaders issued advertisements or erected posters, banners or cutouts, the images of KCR, KTR were followed by Kavitha and Harish Rao. Santosh Kumar’s images were added after he became the Rajya Sabha member and it became public that he controls who can get to meet KCR in Pragathi Bhavan.
But this time around, the instructions appear to be quite clear. The jacket cover advertisements and front page advertisements in all the newspapers in Telangana and the TV advertisements had the images of only KCR and KTR. The issuer of the advertisement was also given prominence. This showed the changing dynamics in the party.
Political watchers say that except for an occasional poster or banner with Kavitha and Harish Rao’s images, most banners have only KCR and KTR. This has in a way settled the question of who inherits KCR’s legacy. It is now clear that it is KTR and KTR only. The other leaders like KK and Talasani have been completely blacked out.
