Behind Kavitha Kalvakuntla's suspension and exit from BRS is a complex web of palace intrigue and the ingrained patriarchal attitude that daughters can inherit property but not politics. Trouble had been brewing within BRS founder K Chandrasekhar Rao's family for some time. The genesis of this is in the sibling rivalry between Kavitha and her brother KT Rama Rao (KTR). While KCR has always had a soft corner for Kavitha, he has entrusted his politics to KTR.
DIVIDING RESPONSIBILITIES
After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, KCR's Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), now christened BRS, swept the parliamentary and assembly polls. Kavitha won Nizamabad parliamentary seat. With this election, KCR projected Kavitha as the party's voice in New Delhi and KTR was his heir-apparent in the state. The arrangement worked well till Kavitha lost Lok Sabha election in 2019 and was rehabilitated by her father in the Legislative Council. A BRS leader told ET, "KCR, like most political leaders in south India, has this attitude that it is the son who is the political inheritor, and not the daughter."
LIQUOR SCAM
The tipping point in Kavitha's relationship with her father came when she was named in the Delhi liquor scam in 2023. She was arrested in March 2024 and remained in Tihar jail till August 2024. KTR visited her a few times but she expected stronger support from BRS. A party source said, "What broke her was that KCR did not visit her in jail even once." After her release from prison, Kavitha was raring to go, only to be told by her father to "take it easy" for some time.
TAKING CENTRESTAGE
Over the last year, Kavitha has been planning her independent tours and protests. In January, Kavitha held a massive rally at Indira Park in Hyderabad demanding 42% reservation for OBCs in education and employment. She raised the issue of discrepancies in the caste survey and demanded the installation of OBC leader Jyotibha Phule statue in the assembly. However, this flex was seen as Kavitha trying to carve a political identity independent of party and KCR, which did not go down well within the family. At a BRS rally at Elkaturthi in Warangal, as part of the party's silver jubilee celebrations on April 27, Kavitha was not given any prominence even as KCR and KTR's posters were displayed.
The proverbial final straw was Kavitha's six-page letter to her father pointing out how he was being soft on BJP and had become inaccessible to his party leaders. After this, Kavitha actively took on party leaders, including her brother. Earlier this week, her attack on KCR's nephews --Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar -- was also carefully crafted. Kavitha has chosen to attack her father's confidantes and gatekeepers but not her father directly. The nephews were attacked as they have thrown their weight behind KTR and chosen their side in the game of political inheritance.
Telangana's politics will be an interesting pitch to watch as another daughter in a Telugu state is trying to chart her own course.
DIVIDING RESPONSIBILITIES
After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, KCR's Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), now christened BRS, swept the parliamentary and assembly polls. Kavitha won Nizamabad parliamentary seat. With this election, KCR projected Kavitha as the party's voice in New Delhi and KTR was his heir-apparent in the state. The arrangement worked well till Kavitha lost Lok Sabha election in 2019 and was rehabilitated by her father in the Legislative Council. A BRS leader told ET, "KCR, like most political leaders in south India, has this attitude that it is the son who is the political inheritor, and not the daughter."
LIQUOR SCAM
The tipping point in Kavitha's relationship with her father came when she was named in the Delhi liquor scam in 2023. She was arrested in March 2024 and remained in Tihar jail till August 2024. KTR visited her a few times but she expected stronger support from BRS. A party source said, "What broke her was that KCR did not visit her in jail even once." After her release from prison, Kavitha was raring to go, only to be told by her father to "take it easy" for some time.
TAKING CENTRESTAGE
Over the last year, Kavitha has been planning her independent tours and protests. In January, Kavitha held a massive rally at Indira Park in Hyderabad demanding 42% reservation for OBCs in education and employment. She raised the issue of discrepancies in the caste survey and demanded the installation of OBC leader Jyotibha Phule statue in the assembly. However, this flex was seen as Kavitha trying to carve a political identity independent of party and KCR, which did not go down well within the family. At a BRS rally at Elkaturthi in Warangal, as part of the party's silver jubilee celebrations on April 27, Kavitha was not given any prominence even as KCR and KTR's posters were displayed.
The proverbial final straw was Kavitha's six-page letter to her father pointing out how he was being soft on BJP and had become inaccessible to his party leaders. After this, Kavitha actively took on party leaders, including her brother. Earlier this week, her attack on KCR's nephews --Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar -- was also carefully crafted. Kavitha has chosen to attack her father's confidantes and gatekeepers but not her father directly. The nephews were attacked as they have thrown their weight behind KTR and chosen their side in the game of political inheritance.
Telangana's politics will be an interesting pitch to watch as another daughter in a Telugu state is trying to chart her own course.
You may also like
Viewers slam BBC's new dating show as they compare it to Married At First Sight
Hezbollah warns of street action if Lebanon moves to curb weapons
Rachel Reeves set to 'tax living daylights' out of Brits as Mel Stride issues warning
Indore: Two Arrested With MD Drugs Worth ₹11 Lakh
Rio Ferdinand says two signings would have saved Man Utd from post-Sir Alex Ferguson woes
