HyderabadSeptember 2, 2025 07:30 PM IST
First published on: Sep 2, 2025 at 07:30 PM IST
From avoiding a question on whether she would be Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K Chandrashekar Rao’s successor with just a smile in May, to being suspended from the party on Monday after accusing her cousins – former minister T Harish Rao and ex-Rajya Sabha MP Santosh Kumar – of “amassing wealth while blinding her father”, party MLC K Kavitha stands at the crossroads of her political career.
Kavitha has said she would “speak” on Wednesday, when she may spell out her future course of action. However, even her associates seem divided over her next move, and what of three options are best for her – floating a new political party, joining the Congress, or accepting her brother and BRS working president K T Rama Rao’s leadership.
Sources close to Kavitha claim it would not be difficult for her to build a party from scratch as she has built an identity for herself and grassroots-level connections over the years through the Telangana Jagruthi – a non-profit organisation.
“Since she got bail (in the alleged Delhi liquor scam) in August last year, she has focused on making her presence felt on the ground. She has toured the state while strengthening the Telangana Jagruthi,” a source said. In her recent public appearances, Kavitha has been seen sporting a Telangana Jagruthi scarf along with the party’s pink scarf.
Cracks in the Kalvakuntla family started to come out in the open soon after the BRS’s plenary in April. First there was the “leak” of Kavitha’s letter to KCR, where she questioned his “limited attacks” on the BJP. About a month later, Kavitha dropped a bombshell when she claimed that merger talks between the BJP and BRS took place behind her back while she was in jail.
The fact that the BRS MLC was organising meetings at her residence or in the office of Telangana Jagruthi was seen as an indication that she was no longer welcome at Telangana Bhavan, the BRS headquarters.
One section of her supporters believe the Congress, which is in power in Telangana, is the best option for Kavitha. However, a source close to her said this would be difficult. “She has been one of the biggest critics of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. There is no question of her joining the Congress or any other party,” the source said.
About accepting KTR’s leadership, a source close to Kavitha said this was doubtful as she feels that under him, “no work is happening on the ground”.
Whichever step she takes, claiming her father’s legacy would be of paramount importance. “It is clear that she has made efforts in this direction over the past few months. She wants to maintain the spirit with which KCR floated the BRS (earlier the Telangana Rashtra Samithi). The present leadership does not follow KCR’s vision but she has closely followed in his footsteps over the years,” a source close to her said.
However, many believe this won’t be easy for Kavitha as KCR, on several occasions, has made it clear that KTR would be his successor.
Kavitha was the BRS MP from Nizamabad between 2014 and 2019, before losing to the BJP’s Dharmapuri Arvind. A year later, she was elected as an MLC.