While many prominent TRS leaders and ministers have been hinting at the possibility of TRS working president
K T Rama Rao taking over as the Chief Minister of Telangana soon, Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker and senior TRS leader T Padma Rao Goud today further fanned the speculations of the change of guard in the state when he openly extended "congratulations in advance" to Rao.
Speaking at a meeting of the South Central Railway Employees Sangh, Goud congratulated "the next Telangana CM", and said that he hoped that the latter would, after becoming CM, protect the interests of the railway workers in the state.
However, KTR, who was also present at the meeting, did not react to the Deputy Speaker's words.
Several ministers, MLAs and MPs of the state, including T Srinivas Yadav, Gangula Kamalakar and Legislative Council Chairman G Sukhender Reddy, have already issued statements on the matter, and have said that they support the appointment. Goud's statement then has only strengthened the ongoing campaign within the TRS for the change.
To many people in the state, this series of comments from the TRS top brass has confirmed the intent of incumbent Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to elevate his son, KTR, to the post of CM soon.