K. Keshava Rao

Kancherla Keshava Rao, popularly known as KK (born 4 June 1939), is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress party. He previously served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament from 2014 to 2024 and previously from 2006 to 2012.

Rao served as the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president in the mid-2000s, during the tenure of late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy in Andhra Pradesh. He joined the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), then Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in 2013 and served as the party secretary general. He was re-elected to Rajya Sabha in 2014 representing Andhra Pradesh. Despite being from Telangana he was assigned to Andhra Pradesh because of the lot method used to assign Rajya Sabha members for the newly created Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh. In 2020, he was again re-elected for a six-year term representing Telangana.

K. Keshava Rao rejoined Congress party on 3 July 2024 in the presence of All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi. He was appointed as the Advisor (Public Affairs) to the Government of Telangana with Cabinet status by Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari on July 6. He resigned from the Rajya Sabha on 4 July 2024.

Personal life
He was born to K. Niranjan Rao and Govindamma in Mahbubabad, Warangal, Hyderabad State on 13 December 1940 (official records 6 June 1939). He received his B.Comm from Badruka College, then pursued an M.A. at Osmania University's Arts College and later PhD from Osmania University, Hyderabad. He is married to Vasantha Kumari and has two sons and two daughters. One of his daughters, Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, is the current mayor of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.