KCR in her crosshairs, KTR the target, what Kavitha’s new party means for BRS, Congress
By calling her outfit Telangana Rashtra Sena, which echoes the name of KCR’s original party, Kavitha stakes her claim to her father’s legacy of spearheading the movement for Telangana’s statehood
When her followers welcomed Kavitha on the sprawling stage at Munirabad in Medchal mandal, it virtually seemed as if she had never left the BRS. (File Photo) When former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MP and MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha launched her party at an event near Hyderabad Saturday, she was surrounded by hundreds of men and women who had all been part of her cultural organisation, Telangana Jagruthi, which she had founded in 2006.
When her followers welcomed Kavitha on the sprawling stage at Munirabad in Medchal mandal, it virtually seemed as if she had never left the BRS — the party founded by her father and former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, in 2001. The optics at the event looked familiar — the mood, songs, speeches and even the crowd.
And then came the announcement of her new party’s name – Telangana Rashtra Sena (TRS), which echoed the name of KCR’s party: For the Bharat Rasthra Samithi, before it decided to go national in 2023, was called the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
Reclaiming TRS
The decision to name her party TRS has been seen in state political circles as her move to challenge KCR and her brother and BRS working president KT Rama Rao or KTR. Kavitha had quit the BRS last September over differences with KTR, who is often projected by the party as KCR’s successor. KTR has been positioning himself as the heir to KCR’s legacy of spearheading the movement for Telangana’s statehood.
“In an astute move, Kavitha has tried to reclaim this legacy by naming her party TRS,” said her party insiders, adding that this would help her cut into the BRS’s vote base in the coming elections.
Addressing the gathering after launching her outfit, Kavitha positioned the TRS as a party that will oppose the BJP, Congress and BRS. “The BJP is against social justice. The Congress failed to deliver on social justice, and the BRS has forgotten its roots,” she alleged.
The Congress, which rules Telangana under CM A Revanth Reddy, has a “single-point agenda – to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister”, Kavitha said, accusing the grand old party of not caring for the aspirations of the Telangana people.
“And all that BRS needs now is for KCR to remain in the farmhouse (his residence) and KTR to assume the CM’s chair,” Kavitha said. “BJP has a single agenda – to do away with social justice,” she added.
Targeting KCR
However, in her attacks, Kavitha mainly targeted KCR, saying that he has “completely changed” over the years. She made a distinction between “two KCRs” — one who led the Telangana statehood agitation before 2014, and another one “who lost his way in power and ignored the Telangana people”. “She was clear in saying that KCR who led an agitation for the Telangana people has changed fundamentally,” a TRS insider said.
Kavitha asked when was the last time KCR was seen close to the people. “When was he out wiping the tears of Telangana people?” she asked. “Saaru Raaru (sir won’t come),” she said to the cheers of her followers.
Kavitha had got a boost in February this year when a Delhi court ordered her discharge, along with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and others, in the Delhi liquor policy case. She had spent over five months in prison in connection with this case before being granted bail in August 2024. The entire episode caused rifts in the KCR family leading to her exit. She went after KCR and KTR, accusing them of not standing by her during her incarceration in what she said was a “politically motivated case”.
Heat on Congress
Kavitha also castigated the Revanth Reddy government’s performance on various fronts. The Congress camp however claimed that her fledgling party would mainly dent the vote base of the principal Opposition BRS. “Kavitha will eat into BRS votes and it will benefit the BJP. The Congress believes in consolidating its own support base and will not engage with this family drama,” a senior Congress leader said.
Kavitha’s aides claimed that several leaders from the BRS would join them in the coming days. “There are so many disgruntled BRS leaders – former MLAs and MPs. They will all join us,” a party leader said.
New party’s roadmap
Amid “Jai Telangana” sloganeering, Kavitha released a five-point agenda of her party. She said the TRS will focus on “education, healthcare, agriculture, livelihood and social justice for the people”. A party leader said: “Kavitha has clarified by unveiling this agenda that she believes in the welfare of Telangana people and that she is not just floating a party out of spite against her father and brother.”
Kavitha also made five pledges on the occasion — free education even in private schools, free medical treatment for any illness including chronic diseases, farmer’s welfare, four lakh jobs within a year of coming to power, and social justice. “These promises are realistic and have come out of years of working for the people. We believe that our development agenda will be accepted by the people of Telangana,” a TRS leader said.
Share
