KT Rama Rao. Picture by Vijaya Lakshmi

Hyderabad, Dec. 10: One thought he could slip into his father’s shoes without much hassle. The other says he isn’t “eager” at all but is ready if the situation demands.

In the fast unravelling theatre of Andhra politics, it is the seemingly ambition-less son who is rising.

As the tussle for Telangana unfolded, Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao emerged as the man to watch out for while his father K. Chandrasekhar Rao lay in hunger strike in a hospital bed. Almost always in jeans and T-shirt, the articulate software engineer with an MBA from America stunned even his dad, a seasoned player in the churning politics of Telangana.

While TRS elders and the rest of his family were advising Rao to call off his fast as the Centre dawdled, the young Rama Rao said he would rather see his father as a “martyr” to the cause. “My father prefers to die rather than face the embarrassment of not achieving Telangana,” he said.

Few had expected Rama Rao to come up with such a comment when everyone thought a decision had been reached to persuade the “sinking” TRS boss to end his fast.

But Rama Rao had other ideas. “I’d rather see my father as a martyr to a cause rather than an embarrassment to himself,” he said.

The 10-MLA TRS may not be a force to reckon with in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, but the 35-year-old has ensured the support of a crucial segment: the jeans-clad GeNext.

But Rama Rao is humble. “I am not eager to take on my father’s mantle. But I am ready to do it if the situation warrants it,” he said.

The contrast with the other young man of Andhra politics — Y.S. Jaganmohan — couldn’t have been more stark.

Eyeing the chief minister’s chair after his father Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy died in an air-crash, Jagan railed against his rivals after K. Rosaiah was anointed.

The 38-year-old launched an offensive against his detractors but the Congress high command stood firm.

An insider said Jagan lacked political acumen. “He comes across more as a spoilt brat who thought he could slip into his father’s shoes without much hassle,” the insider said.

Andhra watchers said Rama Rao had stolen a march over his cousin T. Harish Rao in the power race within the TRS. They said Rama Rao, who contested and won the 2009 Assembly election from Siricilla in Karimnagar district by a margin of just 171 votes, has cemented his place in the party organisation.

A single comment was enough hint that the young man has a mature head on his shoulders.

While most TRS supporters celebrated the Centre’s announcement late last night that it would initiate the process for a separate Telangana state, Rama Rao said the “real effort” would be to bring a bill in Parliament. In other words, nothing could stop the Centre from sitting on an Assembly resolution for statehood.

Some TRS leaders say Rama Rao’s sister K. Kavita, 31, is a better spokesperson. They also point out that she had actively campaigned for Chandrasekhar Rao in the Mahbubnagar Parliament constituency, helping him win from a new seat.

Rama Rao knows his limitations, but unlike Jagan who was in a hurry, he is prepared to wait.

An analyst summed it up: “One son is in it, the other out of it.” What he possibly meant was “out of the frame”.