| K. Keshava Rao | |
| Birth Name: | Kancherla Keshava Rao |
| Birth Date: | 4 April 1939 |
| Birth Place: | Mahbubabad, Hyderabad State, British India (now in Telangana, India) |
| Office: | Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha |
| Term Start: | 10 April 2020 |
| Term End: | 4 July 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Himself |
| Constituency: | Telangana |
| Term Start1: | 9 April 2014 |
| Term End1: | 10 April 2020 |
| Predecessor1: | Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar |
| Successor1: | Himself |
| Constituency1: | |
| Term Start2: | 10 April 2006 |
| Term End2: | 9 April 2012 |
| Predecessor2: | Alladi P Rajkumar |
| Successor2: | Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar |
| Constituency2: | Andhra Pradesh |
| Office3: | 20th President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee |
| Term Start3: | 2005 |
| Term End3: | 2008 |
| 1Blankname3: | AICC President |
| 1Namedata3: | Sonia Gandhi |
| Predecessor3: | Dharmapuri Srinivas |
| Successor3: | Dharmapuri Srinivas |
| Office4: | Deputy Chairman Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council |
| Term Start4: | 1979 |
| Term End4: | 1980 |
| 1Blankname4: | Chairman |
| 1Namedata4: | Syed Mukasheer Shah |
| 2Blankname4: | Leader of the House |
| 2Namedata4: | Marri Chenna Reddy |
| Constituency4: | Andhra Pradesh |
| Office5: | Member of Legislative Council Andhra Pradesh |
| Term Start5: | 1979 |
| Term End5: | 1985 |
| 1Blankname5: | Chairman |
| 1Namedata5: | Syed Mukasheer Shah |
| 2Blankname5: | Leader of the House |
| 2Namedata5: | Marri Chenna Reddy |
| Constituency5: | Andhra Pradesh |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Party: | Indian National Congress (till May 2013, 2024- present) |
| Residence: | 312, Telangana Bhawan, New Delhi |
| Alma Mater: | Osmania University Badruka College |
| Spouse: | Vasanta Kumari |
| Children: | 4; including Gadwal Vijayalakshmi |
| Occupation: | Political and Social Worker, Journalist and Educationist |
| Source: | http://164.100.24.167:8080/members/website/Mainweb.asp?mpcode=1998 |
| Otherparty: | Bharat Rashtra Samithi (May 2013 - 2024) |
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.[1] 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.[2] [3] [4]
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.[5] [6] 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.[7] [8] He resigned from the Rajya Sabha on 4 July 2024.
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.