Kalvakuntla Kavitha, who quit the BRS after being suspended by party President and her father K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), is likely to float a new party but faces an uncertain future in the crowded political space in Telangana.
With hardly any support from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) cadres, and the lack of a clear agenda makes it a daunting task for the 47-year-old to create her own identity.
While her revolt and sensational allegations against her cousins – former minister T. Harish Rao and former MP J. Santosh Kumar – dealt a blow to the BRS, the lack of support from any known face in the party makes her fight a lonely battle.
Though she is yet to announce her future course of action, those close to her believe that she will turn Telangana Jagruthi, the cultural and social group she has been heading since 2008, into a political party.
Kavitha’s revolt and her allegations of corruption against Harish Rao, one of the most powerful leaders of the party and a close confidante of KCR, have embarrassed the first family of BRS at a time when it was gearing up to bounce back in the state after a series of reverses since losing power in 2023.
The timing of Kavitha’s attack also raised eyebrows in the political circles. Her onslaught against the cousins came hours after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged corruption in the Kaleshwaram irrigation project constructed during the BRS rule.
The Chief Minister announced the CBI probe in the Assembly after a marathon debate on the report of the P. C. Ghose Commission, which indicted KCR and Harish Rao for their alleged role in the irregularities.
Though she tried to blame Harish Rao for the corruption tag to her father, it was seen by many as a confession when the two leaders had approached the High Court to quash the Ghose Commission report. Hence, KCR lost no time in acting against Kavitha.
While both KCR and Kavitha’s brother and BRS Working President K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) have refrained from reacting to Kavitha’s allegations, they let senior BRS leaders, including women leaders, justify the action taken against her. The BRS leaders praised KCR for what they called not sparing his own daughter to enforce discipline in the party.
None of the key leaders of BRS came out in support of Kavitha, who not only quit as Member of Legislative Council (MLC) but also resigned from the primary membership of the party.
Continuing her outbursts against Harish Rao and Santosh, she even alleged that they were trying to take over the party. She also cautioned her father and brother against their conspiracies.
Kavitha's episode gave the ruling Congress and the opposition party, the BJP, more ammunition to attack the KCR family over alleged corruption during the 10-year BRS rule. Leaders of both Congress and BJP attributed Kavitha’s revolt to what they call a rift in the KCR family over the sharing of "ill-gotten" money.
Political analysts believe that no one will come out in support of Kavitha, who has no mass base, unlike KCR, KTR, and Harish Rao. Even the cadres of Telangana Jagruthi are the BRS workers.
In addition, Kavitha’s agenda itself is not clear. "There is no clarity on what Kavitha is demanding and what her complaint is when the party is in the hands of her father and brother," analyst Palwai Raghavendra Reddy told IANS.
He believes that the stand taken by Kavitha in accusing Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar of being corrupt while giving a clean chit to KCR and KTR will not cut ice with people.
Leaders of the ruling Congress and the other opposition are already demanding she speak out on the alleged corruption of her father and brother.
By suspending Kavitha, KCR sent a strong message that he will not tolerate allegations against his nephew, who had a crucial role in building the TRS (now BRS). "Harish Rao was in the party even before his brother and sister joined it. People who know the contribution of Harish Rao to the party will not believe what Kavitha is saying," said Raghavendra Redy.
He is also of the view that Kavitha would not be able to make any political impact. At the most, she can be a nuisance factor to the BRS and its leadership.
The analyst draws a parallel with the rift between Sharmila and her brother Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the YSR Congress Party.
Sharmila had played a key role in keeping the YSRCP afloat with her padyatra in the then united Andhra Pradesh when Jagan was in jail in the disproportionate assets case. She also had a significant role in the party’s election campaign in the 2019 elections.
After YSRCP came to power with a landslide win, and Sharmila wanted her pie, Jagan Mohan Reddy sidelined her. When she came out and floated the YSR Telangana Party, nobody came in her support.
Sharmila merged her party with Congress, which made her the President of the party’s Andhra Pradesh unit. She claims to be the true successor of her father, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s political legacy.
Unlike Sharmila, who was not made an MP or MLA, Kavitha had a political space in Telangana. She founded Telangana Jagruthi in 2009 to give cultural thrust to the Telangana movement when it was at its peak.
After the formation of Telangana State in 2014, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Nizamabad. Though she failed to retain the seat in 2019, KCR made her a member of the Legislative Council. However, she was not given any role in the government or the party.
After TRS retained power in 2018, KCR made his son KTR the heir-apparent by appointing him as the Working President of the party.
As a minister holding key portfolios, KTR was the number two in both the government and the party. Some people see this patriarchal approach as the cause of family rift.
Kavitha’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI in March 2024 in the Delhi liquor case dented her image. The political rivals dubbed her "liquor queen". She was the first member of KCR’s family to be arrested on allegations of corruption.
After her release on bail five months later, KCR apparently wanted her to lie low due to her tainted image, which was seen as one of the factors for the party drawing a blank in the Lok Sabha elections.
She, however, started reviving her political activity by taking up various issues, especially the issue of an increase in reservation for backward classes.
Kavitha was apparently feeling sidelined in the party. The internal rift came out in the open in May 2025 -- a few days after BRS held a massive show of strength in Warangal to celebrate its silver jubilee -- when a letter written by Kavitha to KCR was leaked. This exposed the rift in the family and ultimately led to her exit from the party.
