Naughty Schoolboy to Fiery Politician: N. Ramchander Rao
Telangana BJP Chief, Naraparaju Ramchander Rao, reveals his many shades at the India Today South Conclave in Coimbatore. He talks of missed buses and classroom pranks, Telangana’s hospitality and temples, his passion for cooking biryani and sambar, and elections where party always comes before state. A leader who makes everyone run — once in search, now in politics.
The Naughty Student Who Became the Party’s Voice
He confesses without hesitation — he was no frontbencher, no starry-eyed topper.
“Not too good, not too bad,” he laughs, recalling Sanskrit classes where his sharp tongue earned him punishment.
A boy who could make teachers kneel in confusion with his wit, once vanishing overnight after missing his school bus — forcing his father, teachers, and the entire neighbourhood to launch a frantic search. This was Ramchander Rao — rebellious, restless, restless enough to one day find politics inevitable.
Telangana: Hospitality, Temples, and the Business Dream
Ask him about Telangana, and he doesn’t speak in bureaucratic jargon. He hits straight: hospitality and development.
“We are hospitable people,” he insists, pointing out how Vajpayee’s NDA years seeded Telangana’s business spirit.
He also celebrates South India’s shared glue — temples and food. Rice-eaters, idli-lovers, temple-keepers. Rao hails South’s temples as unmatched in grandeur and upkeep, even daring comparisons with the North.
Biryani, Sambar, and the Masterchef Dream
Yes, the BJP State President of Telangana openly admits: if not politics, he’d have been a chef. Cooking is his stress-buster, his passion.
- Signature dishes: Vegetarian biryani and fiery sambar
- Fusion recipes: Of his own invention
- Preference: Guntur karam over Hyderabadi biryani (though he concedes biryani is Hyderabad’s immortal crown)
“Food is life, people should love it,” he declares, narrating how wherever he travels — North or South — he hunts for the local delicacy.
The Election Heat: Party Over State
The South Conclave wasn’t just about food. With the Vice-Presidential election freshly concluded, Rao exudes certainty — the BJP’s numbers are solid, the win assured.
When pressed on Telangana’s pride being divided between rival candidates, he doesn’t blink:
“It is party versus party, not state versus state.”
A blunt dismissal of sentimental politics, reminding us that for Rao, loyalty to the saffron fold is non-negotiable.
The Man Who Makes Everyone Run
In school, he once made an entire town run to find him. In politics today, he makes an entire state run to keep pace.
From courtroom battles to kitchen experiments, from temple corridors to conclave stages — Ramchander Rao is a man of many masks. But behind them all lies one constant: a firebrand who refuses to fit into the box, whether in school, in law, in politics — or in his kitchen.
Hard Truth: Telangana BJP’s chief is no stereotype neta. He’s a walking cocktail of law, politics, food, humour, and unfiltered candour. A man who serves biryani with the same flourish as he serves political punches.
“If not a politician, I would have been a chef. Cooking is my stress-buster, and biryani is my signature.”
— N. Ramchandra Rao, BJP Telangana Chief
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