K Kavitha’s outburst: Sibling rivalry or scripted drama?

Hyderabad: When BRS leader Kalvakuntla Kavitha recently launched her first attack on her brother KT Rama Rao, terming their father K Chandrashekar Rao as “a god surrounded by devils”, social media erupted with comparisons to YS Sharmila’s rebellion against her brother, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. While Sharmila couldn’t deliver much for Congress in the 2024 Andhra polls, she potentially damaged Jagan’s prospects, reducing the once-invincible leader to just 11 Assembly seats.

Now, as Telangana’s ruling Congress appears shaky with unfulfilled poll promises, hopes of revival are rekindling in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi camp after 16 months out of power. However, the opposition party faces its own crisis: A fierce sibling rivalry between 47-year-old Kavitha and 48-year-old KTR for party leadership.

Both siblings joined the BRS (then TRS) around 2006 during the Telangana statehood movement. However, after the party came to power in 2014, KTR enjoyed immense power, serving as the de facto number two in government and party hierarchy for nearly nine and a half years. He was widely seen as the heir apparent to patriarch KCR.

Kavitha, meanwhile, carved out her own identity in Telangana’s political landscape. After completing engineering from a private engineering college in Hyderabad and working as a software engineer in the US, she returned to India in 2004 to join the Telangana movement. In 2006, she founded Telangana Jagruthi, a socio-cultural organisation that played a crucial role in mobilising support for statehood.

She also adopted villages in Nalgonda district, providing free education to local people and underprivileged children.

In the same year, the Telangana movement gained momentum when KCR resigned from the Union Cabinet, expressing strong disagreement with the Centre.

Political journey

Kavitha’s political journey included winning the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat in 2014 with a massive majority of 164,184 votes, though she lost the same seat to BJP’s Dharmapuri Arvind in 2019. She later became an MLC from Nizamabad Local Authorities’ Constituency, winning unopposed in 2021.

The battle for leadership in the pink party intensified dramatically when Kavitha asserted her unwavering loyalty exclusively to her father’s leadership while alleging that certain BRS factions were orchestrating the party’s merger with the BJP. Without naming KTR directly, she delivered a pointed critique, suggesting “the party cannot be run on Twitter”, a barbed reference to her brother’s prominent social media presence, which has earned him the moniker “Twitter Tillu” from his political opponents.

The controversy erupted following the leak of a six-page handwritten letter of Kavitha to KCR on May 2. In it, she questioned his perceived “soft stance” toward the BJP and raised concerns about “selective access” to party leaders. She urged him to convene a two-day plenary session to listen to grassroots voices and re-energise the cadre.

Speaking at the inauguration of Telangana Jagruthi’s new office recently, Kavitha declared that while BRS serves as one eye for KCR, Telangana Jagruthi functions as the other. She categorically opposed any BRS-BJP merger and alleged the existence of a conspiracy to create discord between her and KCR.

Senior journalist Pradeep Bodapatla, who has covered Telangana politics for two decades, believes Kavitha feels her contributions haven’t been adequately recognised in the party, especially after her alleged involvement in the Delhi liquor scam. “Her defeat in the 2019 parliamentary elections, differences with MLAs from her district, and her arrest in the liquor scam might have irked KCR. The recent BRS silver jubilee celebrations, where she wasn’t given any role while KTR was made in-charge, might have triggered this outburst,” he observed.

KTR, for his part, has downplayed the allegations, noting that “coverts exist in every party” and emphasising that internal matters should be discussed within party forums. His measured response contrasts sharply with Kavitha’s public statements.

Independent power base

Kavitha appears to be building an independent power base while maintaining family loyalty. Through Telangana Jagruthi, she outlined an ambitious agenda including campaigns for 42% BC reservation, Rs 2,500 monthly assistance for women, and scooters for girl children. Significantly, she announced Jagruthi’s expansion into minority rights advocacy, with plans to establish dedicated Muslim, Sikh, and Christian wings alongside new SC and ST wings.

However, political analyst Telakapalli Ravi suggests there’s more than what meets the eye. “I don’t think Kavitha would speak so openly about BRS-BJP merger talks without tacit approval from party patriarch KCR. Given his history of political maneuvering, he’s likely keeping his options open for a possible or no alliance with BJP in the next elections. There might have been pressure from the BJP to strike a deal, and perhaps his daughter’s release on bail came with certain assurances,” Ravi told DH.

“Strangely, it appears KCR has instructed KTR to remain silent about Kavitha while allowing his daughter to speak freely. Notably, Kavitha has never spoken harshly about the BJP itself, she’s only opposed to the BRS merger with the saffron party,” he added.

Whether Kavitha’s outburst will prove to be a “Sharmila moment” for KTR and BRS, or merely a family drama scripted by the ‘stoically silent’ KCR for his political maneuvering, only time will tell. Until then, BRS leaders remain tight-lipped about the sibling rivalry that threatens to reshape Telangana’s political landscape.