As the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), led by former Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrashekar Rao, completed 25 years of its formation on Monday, the party is facing major challenges from his own daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha who launched a separate political outfit.
The biggest challenge before the BRS is to counter the newly-formed in the name of Telangana Rashtra Sena (TRS) of Kavitha, as she virtually hijacked the party title.
The party is no more in a position to reclaim its title, as KCR himself is responsible for rebranding his party as BRS and lost power in the 2023 elections, besides drawing blank in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Subsequent municipal elections also yielded disappointing results, weakening the party’s grassroots morale.
Adding to its woes, the Congress government has been aggressively targeting the BRS over allegations including phone tapping, irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project, the liquor scam, and sheep distribution scheme controversies.
Against this backdrop, KCR is now forced to counter both the Congress and also his daughter Kavitha, if he has to bring back the BRS to power.
Facing multi-cornered contests in all the future elections is going to be a major challenge for the BRS.
While BRS still retains support in rural areas due to its welfare schemes and developmental initiatives, leadership accessibility issues and dissatisfaction with local representatives contributed to its recent losses.
As KCR attempts to regain political momentum, the emergence of a challenge from within his own family has made the things more complicated for him.
The party’s ability to navigate the next two years will be crucial in determining its long-term survival.
