Telangana Jagruthi president and former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter, K Kavitha, launched a political outfit on Saturday, named “Telangana Rashtra Sena” (TRS), and outlined a five-point agenda focused on social justice, free education and healthcare and employment.
Addressing a large gathering at a private convention centre in Medchal on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Kavitha said the party was formed to build a “Samajika Telangana” (a Telangana with social justice) and ensure equitable opportunities for SCs, STs, BCs, minorities, women and youth.
“A political party must have a soul and an agenda. Political power is essential to implement this agenda and fulfil people’s aspirations. The new party TRS is a vehicle for that purpose,” she said.
Launching a sharp attack on KCR, Kavitha alleged that he had lost touch with the spirit of the Telangana movement after becoming chief minister in 2014.
“The present-day KCR is completely different from the KCR of the Telangana movement. Earlier, he was empathetic, accessible and committed to people’s struggles. After coming to power, he became detached and unresponsive. The present KCR is a soulless mechanical doll,” she said.
She also alleged that the movement had “lost direction” under his leadership and that social justice had been sidelined. “While the real Telangana had no access to him, anti-Telangana forces gained influence. Corruption peaked and scams became the order of the day,” she claimed.
“Earlier, KCR was “mana manishi” (our man), but he had now turned into a “mara manishi” (a robot), under the control of wolves and jackals around him. He has no empathy for the suffering masses. He never comes out to call on people who were in distress,” Kavitha added.
Kavitha’s decision to name her party TRS is being seen by political observers as a strategic move to occupy the legacy space of the original Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the party founded by her father K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), which was renamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in October 2022.
The BRS had adopted its new identity as part of KCR’s national ambitions, but after its defeat in the 2023 Telangana assembly elections and failure to win any seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, voices within the party have called for reverting to the original TRS name.
“Yes. We made a strategic mistake by naming TRS as BRS. We shall consider reverting to its original name TRS. The final decision will be taken by KCR soon,” BRS working president and Kavitha’s brother K T Rama Rao told reporters last week.
“Now, by formally naming her party as ‘TRS’, Kavitha effectively occupied the legacy space of the original TRS and reclaimed the Telangana identity which was once associated with the BRS,” said political analyst Srinivasa Rao Manchala.
Kavitha also unveiled the party flag, which features yellow, blue and green colours, in contrast to the pink associated with the BRS. The flag carries a blue map of Telangana with the acronym “TRS” inscribed within it.
In her address, Kavitha highlighted her two-decade-long association with the Telangana movement through Telangana Jagruthi, particularly mobilising women through Bathukamma cultural programmes. She said these initiatives helped build grassroots awareness and reclaim Telangana’s cultural identity through folk traditions.
She acknowledged that while Telangana was achieved through a collective struggle, the aspirations behind the movement remain unfulfilled.
Meanwhile, training her guns on the BJP, Kavitha criticised the saffron party accusing it of neglecting Telangana despite having eight MPs from the state and undermining federal principles. At the same time, she targeted the Congress government led by chief minister A Revanth Reddy, calling it “draconian”.
BJP state chief spokesperson and media in-charge N V Subash reacted to the development and was quoted as saying by news agency PTI, “The development only reinforces what the party has long maintained–that internal developments within the family of former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao are being played out as calculated public spectacles rather than genuine political shifts.”
“After nearly a decade in power since 2014, and following the electoral setback in 2023, what we are now witnessing is a fallout within the same family. The sudden resurrection of a similarly named party raises serious questions about intent and credibility,” he added.
Outlining her party’s agenda, Kavitha promised free education from primary school to university level and universal free healthcare. She said farmers would be given dignity and institutional support, while unemployed youth would be made self-reliant through financial assistance ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹20 crore for entrepreneurship.
She also promised to fill four lakh government vacancies “at one go” and ensure social justice across all sections of society.
Kavitha announced that her party would contest the upcoming mandal parishad and zilla parishad elections, as well as the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls.
Kavitha was suspended from the BRS in September, 2025 after she accused her cousins and party leaders T Harish Rao and J Santosh Kumar of “tarnishing” her father and BRS president Chandrasekhar Rao’s image over the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project built during the BRS regime.
