BRS Rift Grows: Kavitha Hints at BJP Merger, Targets Brother KTR

Telangana’s regional party, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), is facing internal turmoil as a leadership rift intensifies. Former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s (KCR) daughter, K. Kavitha, took veiled swipes at her brother and BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) during a media interaction on Thursday, deepening speculation about a power struggle within the party.

The tensions follow a leaked letter Kavitha had written to her father, KCR, on May 2, which surfaced in the third week of the month. In the letter, Kavitha criticized KCR for failing to take a stronger stance against the BJP in Telangana—where the Congress currently holds power, while both the BRS and BJP sit in opposition.

Speaking to reporters, Kavitha made her allegiance clear:

“I have only one leader, and that is KCR. I will work only under his leadership.”

Without naming KTR directly, she made a startling revelation:

“There is an ongoing effort to merge BRS with the BJP.”

Kavitha further claimed that such an offer was extended during her imprisonment last year.

“An offer was made to merge BRS with BJP while I was in prison. I said a resounding ‘No’ at the time because BRS is a regional party meant to protect the interests of Telangana.”

Kavitha had been arrested in March 2024 by the Enforcement Directorate and later by the CBI in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam. She spent five months in jail before being granted bail.

The latest developments suggest widening cracks within the BRS, even as it struggles to stay politically relevant in a changing Telangana landscape.