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Accusing a section of her party of conspiring to merge the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) with the BJP, Kalvakuntla Kavitha, daughter of former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR),

publicly declared her rebellion on Wednesday. Reaffirming that BRS had only one true leader, KCR, Kavitha asserted she would not accept anyone else in that role. Her open challenge, seen as

a direct rebellion against her brother and BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR), has disrupted KCR’s plans for a smooth leadership transition to his son and political heir. Advertisement

Taking multiple digs at KTR, who is currently abroad, Kavitha criticized his reliance on social media over ground-level action and questioned the absence of protests against the inquiry

notice issued to KCR by the Kaleshwaram Project Commission. Advertisement Speaking publicly for the first time since her leaked letter to KCR, BRS MLC Kavitha accused a faction within the

party of deliberately sidelining her due to her opposition to the merger with the BJP. “There is a conspiracy to merge BRS with the BJP. The proposal came to me while I was in jail. I

vehemently opposed it,” she stated. Kavitha emphasized that she was not vying for power or positions, claiming she had been ready to resign from both her party post and as MLC during the

Delhi Liquor Policy case. According to her, KCR stopped her, arguing that the charges were politically motivated. On the leaked letter, which she said was meant as internal party

communication, Kavitha remarked that she had written “hundreds of letters” to her father before this and blamed vested interests for orchestrating a smear campaign against her via social

media. While firmly denying any intention to leave BRS, she doubled down on her loyalty to her father. “BRS has only one leader — that is KCR. I won’t accept anybody else,” she declared. She

also criticized KTR for the party’s lack of ground-level engagement on pressing issues, such as the changes to the Telugu Talli statue by the Congress government and water-sharing conflicts

with Andhra Pradesh. She questioned the rationale behind holding the BRS silver jubilee functions in the UK and the US, events that had taken KTR abroad and highlighted the absence of

protests over the commission’s notice to KCR. Her organization, Jagruthi, has planned a protest for June 3, ahead of KCR’s appearance before the commission. Kavitha’s outburst is seen by

some as a move to force her father’s hand, particularly since KCR has not met her since the letter surfaced. Although he sent an emissary, the mediation appears to have failed, prompting

Kavitha to go public. In contrast, KCR held a lengthy meeting with KTR before his departure, a sign, many believe, of where his allegiance currently lies. Advertisement