Expelled BRS leader eyes women voters to challenge father and brother
A month after being expelled from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), K Kavitha is preparing for her political comeback with a clear focus: women voters. Once considered the party’s national face, Kavitha now hopes to carve out her own path, even if it means opposing her father, former Telangana chief minister KCR, and her brother KTR, the party’s heir-apparent.
At her Telangana Jagruti office in Hyderabad, Kavitha is surrounded by women supporters who affectionately call her “Akka” (sister). Water bottles carry her image, though noticeably absent are pictures of KTR. Kavitha admits she felt betrayed when her brother failed to defend her against a BRS MLA’s personal attacks. “He could have just called and asked for my version,” she says.
From suspension to strategy
Kavitha recalls that she was never given a chance to explain before her suspension. “There were people who wanted me out, and here I am,” she says. The rift grew sharper after BRS’s election losses, when KTR’s supporters sidelined her role in the party.
Now, Kavitha is determined to script her own story. She points to Telangana’s voter demographics—where women slightly outnumber men—as the key to her new political strategy. Women voters were instrumental in Congress’s recent rise in the state, and Kavitha hopes to draw them towards her, away from both Congress and BRS.
Building alliances and inspiration
Though she has not officially launched a party, Kavitha has been meeting leaders across the country and even shared a stage recently with INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala in Haryana. Like the Bathukamma festival that celebrates diverse flowers, she believes different regional parties must come together to form an alternative to both BJP and Congress.
Despite the family feud, Kavitha still counts her father KCR and Margaret Thatcher as political inspirations. She also draws strength from leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalithaa, who rose despite patriarchal challenges. “I will have to fight against three men—the chief minister, my father, and the prime minister,” she says confidently.
When asked if she is eyeing the chief minister’s post, Kavitha responds with a smile: “Why not?” Her sisterhood strategy may well define the next chapter of Telangana politics.
