Telangana BRS Rift: One and half years into its defeat in the Telangana assembly elections, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is now looking at humiliating prospects with the internal family rift wide open. BRS legislator K Kavitha, daughter of party president K Chandrashekar Rao, has challenged the authority of her brother KT Rama Rao. According to political experts, the power tussle has escalated into a family feud with both, KTR and Kavitha, looking to assert their dominance on the party founded by their father KCR.
According to reports, there are clamours within the BRS that KTR might take over as state president while KCR may be redesignated as the party’s national president. Experts believe that Kavitha considers this a ploy to sideline her within the party. Many senior BRS leaders including KCR’s nephew T Harish Rao and former minister V Srinivas Goud have already expressed their willingness to work under the leadership of KTR. This further shows that BRS leaders are open to supporting KTR but not Kavitha.
This all started with Kavitha’s OBC and women outreach campaign across the state. While the BRS was in power, Kavitha did not take the issue to the party leadership, but seeing the rise in stature of KTR, she is leading a mass movement by touring the state, showing that she is capable of leading the BRS. She has now been openly saying that while the BRS managed to get geographical Telangana, a socially equitable Telangana is yet to be reached. This remark directly questions the first 10 years of the BRS rule. This has reportedly irked KTR, who doesn’t want his sister Kavitha to emerge as an alternative power within the party. Kavitha has alleged that attempts were being made to force her to distance herself from her family and the party.
Notably, KTR holds Kavitha responsible for BRS’ poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls because, at that time, Kavitha was embroiled in the Delhi liquor scam case and even spent time in prison. According to political analysts, KTR is of the opinion that the corruption allegations hurt the BRS very badly. Reportedly, KTR has asked district leaders to refrain from attending Kavitha and her meeting. In one of the BRS rallies at Elkaturthi in Warangal, Kavitha was not given a single place in photo hoardings.
K. Kavitha, on Thursday claimed that a section of the party leaders was responsible for her defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and that attempts were being made to hand over BRS to the BJP. She revealed that the proposal to merge BRS with the BJP came when she was in jail in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. Kavitha said she strongly opposed the proposal at that time.
Kavitha recently wrote a letter to her father KTR questioning her father KTR for not criticising the BJP enough during his rallies. However, the confidential letter was leaked. Kavitha lamented that the daughter of the party was being targeted but the BRS was not responding. Kavitha also claimed that she wanted to resign after her arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case but KCR advised her not to do so.
Kavitha vs KTR feud echoes YS Jagan vs Sarmila row in Andhra Pradesh. The brother-sister duo of Jagan and Sharmila also had a political rift over control of the YSRCP, a party founded by their father. Ultimately, now Jagan controls the party while Sharmila is with the Congress.
When asked, Kavithaa denied reports of holding talks with Congress. Denying reports that she is planning to float a separate party, Kavitha made it clear that she will remain in the BRS and work under the leadership of her father KCR. “There is no need for a new party. It is enough to properly look after the present party,” Kavitha said.
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