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Kavitha’s new party is TRS after all: The new name is…

The EC has now approved the name Telangana Rakshana Sena for Kavitha's party. Days earlier Kavitha proposed ‘Telangana Rashtra Sena’ on the lines of her father’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)

kavithaAs Kavitha has hopes to carve a space for herself as a woman leader in a male dominated political landscape, those who surrounded her were women of different backgrounds – from ST Lambadas to Muslim women in hijab. (File photo)

K Kavitha’s party will be called Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS), and not what she had announced on the day of its launch on April 25. This is after the Election Commission of India approved the name ‘Telangana Rakshana Sena’ (TRS) as a political party led by Kalvakuntla Kavitha.

This comes days after Kavitha announced that the party will be called Telangana Rashtra Sena, along the lines of her father’s party Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The original TRS, which was launched in 2001 by its supremo and former chief minister of Telangana and Kavitha’s father K Chandrashekar Rao, is now known as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Taking to X Kavitha wrote: “Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) it is! We will relentlessly work to serve and protect the people of Telangana, as we have done in the last two decades as Telangana Jagruthi”. Telangana Jagruthi is a cultural organisation founded by Kavitha in 2006.

She added: “In January 2026, following standard EC protocol, we submitted five name choices, and the Election Commission has officially granted our third choice. The only one with the acronym TRS. Destiny, it seems, has a sense of irony”.

Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice. Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India. Expertise & Focus Areas Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include: Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India. Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism. Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities. National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting. Authoritativeness & Trust A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society. Find all stories by Nikhila Henry here. ... Read More

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