K Chandrashekar Rao.
Credit: PTI File Photo
The history of Telangana is rich and complex, evolving through various periods of rule and governance.
Post India's independence in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad initially sought to maintain sovereignty but eventually merged his kingdom with the Indian Union in 1948, forming the Hyderabad State.
In 1956, following the States Reorganisation Commission's recommendations, Telangana was merged with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh, based on linguistic lines.
However, the demand for a separate Telangana state persisted.
In 2014, the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act was passed, leading to the formation of Telangana on June 2, 2014.
In the 2018 Telangana Assembly elections, several leaders and parties contested for the Chief Minister's position.
The key candidates:
1. K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) from Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), who was the incumbent Chief Minister and had been leading the party since 2001. He contested from the Gajwel constituency.
2. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy from the Indian National Congress (INC), leading the party since 2015 and contesting from the Huzurnagar constituency. INC was part of the 'Maha Kootami' (Grand Alliance) including Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), and Communist Party of India (CPI) aimed at defeating TRS.
3. Akbaruddin Owaisi from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), who had been the party leader since 1999 and contested from Chandrayangutta.
KCR, as he is popularly known, was sworn in as Telangana's first Chief Minister on June 2, 2014, and re-elected in 2018 after dissolving the assembly nine months before its term ended.
He has been the only Chief Minister of Telangana since its inception.