Kavitha, daughter of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), resigned from the party on Wednesday after being suspended a day earlier for alleged anti-party activities. The former Telangana chief minister took the step after Kavitha accused her cousins, Harish Rao and Santosh Rao—both influential figures in the BRS—of tarnishing his image in the Kaleshwaram project corruption row. To prevent any possible backlash from Harish Rao, KCR chose to suspend his daughter amid the ongoing public feud within the family. Kavitha, however, felt deeply betrayed by her father’s decision.
It is noteworthy that Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has already ordered an inquiry into the Kaleshwaram project corruption scam after the Ghose Commission submitted its report implicating KCR and others. Meanwhile, KCR’s daughter is out on bail in the liquor scam. Can we then say: like father, like daughter, as both face corruption charges?
Kavitha has long been at odds with her brother K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) and cousin Harish Rao over political supremacy within the party. She believes her political journey has been obstructed by patriarchy, where men dominate and usurp power, sidelining women. As a male feminist, I find merit in Kavitha’s argument. Yet, Kavitha herself is not beyond reproach—the liquor scam allegations have weakened both her image and that of the BRS.
Earlier, she remarked that her father KCR is surrounded by “devils,” implying that Harish, Santosh, and KTR heavily influence his decisions.
I thought that the political drama that is being staged now would be after KCR is gone. But it has started in his lifetime, and he may, in all likelihood, see a two-way split in the BRS, which is a later Avatar of the original Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). Kavitha’s followers may force a split in the party. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already started mulling over political possibilities, as at least one faction may seek an alliance with the BJP. KCR and Harish Rao’s communal overtones make them perfect future alliance partners of the BJP.
Kavitha bared her communal fangs recently when she opposed the inclusion of Muslims in the proposed 42 per cent reservations for the Backward Classes (BCs). It pleased the BJP no end! The BJP is looking forward to the disintegration of the BRS so that it can make a move to install an alleged 40 % Commission BJP Government in Telangana too, after its experience in the neighbouring Karnataka. It is learnt that Kavitha has already registered a political party, and the announcement may come soon after this suspension and resignation episode. Kavitha has alleged that the Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy, is protecting Harish Rao and others in the Kaleshwaram corruption scam to put the blame on KCR.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Pradesh Congress president, Mahesh Kumar Goud, has termed the developments as internal affairs of the BRS. However, he opined that there were disputes over property among KCR’s family members. The weakened Congress in Telangana gets a breathing space, and it augurs well for the party in the coming local body elections. One of the factions in BRS may have a tacit alliance for the local body polls. There is a lot of political churning, and the political dust is not settling down despite the heavy monsoons!
It remains to be seen how the CBI unearths the ‘Kaale Karnaame aur Kartoot’ of corruption in the Kaleshwaram project scam in the light of new developments in the BRS. Will the CBI get any accused to turn as Approvers? Will former Irrigation Minister and KCR’s nephew Harish Rao turn approver in the case to turn the tables on Kavitha and KCR at the same time? Harish Rao has a considerable BRS cadre behind him. Will the unsettling developments in the party and the CBI inquiry push the frail KCR more towards his favourite Gudamba (local toddy) drink and confine him to his farmhouse?
