Using her long-standing platform, Telangana Jagruthi as the base for her comeback, she is rebranding it as a movement for Bahujan empowerment while distancing herself from what she calls the BRS’s “family-centric politics."
Published Oct 09, 2025 | 9:22 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 09, 2025 | 9:22 AM
Kavitha has been meeting activists of the Telangana movement and progressive thinkers
Synopsis: Since being suspended by the BRS for alleged anti-party activities, K Kavitha has refused to step back. Following her resignation from the party and her MLC post, Kavitha has revived her organisation, Telangana Jagruthi, rebranding it as a Bahujan empowerment movement while rebuilding alliances and expanding her grassroots outreach. Through cultural symbolism, social justice advocacy, and pointed attacks on both the BRS and the ruling Congress, she is steadily recasting herself as an independent political contender.
When Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) suspended his daughter, MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha, from the party on September 2 for alleged anti-party activities, it came as little surprise.
For months, the former MP’s increasingly public criticisms of the party’s senior leadership had set tongues wagging about the widening rift between Kavitha, her family, and the party. When she made serious allegations against her cousins—former Finance Minister T Harish Rao and BRS Rajya Sabha MP J Santosh Kumar—accusing them of tarnishing her father’s legacy through their alleged roles in controversies such as the Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, the axe finally fell.
Since then, Kavitha has refused to step back. She resigned from the BRS and also from her MLC post (the resignation is yet to be accepted) and is now positioning herself as an independent political force.
Though senior leaders, including her brother KT Rama Rao (KTR), have remained silent, observers see the disciplinary action as an attempt to curb dissent within the party after its setbacks in the 2023 Assembly elections.
Undeterred, Kavitha has turned to her long-standing platform, Telangana Jagruthi, the cultural and social organisation she founded in 2006.
Using it as the base for her comeback, she is rebranding it as a movement for Bahujan empowerment while distancing herself from what she calls the BRS’s “family-centric politics”, steadily rebuilding her public image with a focus on social inclusion, grassroots outreach, and a Bahujan-centric agenda.
In what appears to be a bid to reach out to sections alienated under KCR’s leadership, Kavitha has been meeting activists of the Telangana movement and progressive thinkers. Sources close to her say she is holding quiet consultations to rebuild relationships and alliances fractured during the BRS’s rule.
Her revival strategy centres on expanding Telangana Jagruthi. On 3 October, she announced the second phase of its state committee, filling nearly 80 percent of key posts with representatives from marginalised sections.
Notably, Roop Singh Naik, a Scheduled Tribe leader, was appointed as working president.
Kavitha launched this phase with a symbolic Bathukamma celebration in her native village, Chintamadaka, linking her political resurgence to the cultural festival that had once propelled her rise.
Her recent outreach has included condolence visits to poet-academician Prof N Gopi in Ramanthapur and Dr K Siva Reddy in Gaddi Annaram.
She also attended Alai Balai, a non-partisan Dasara get-together hosted annually by Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, signalling her attempt to reconnect across political divides.
Kavitha has planned a series of district tours and interactions with intellectuals, poets, artists, and civil society representatives to consolidate Bahujan voices and project herself as an inclusive leader.
After her removal as honorary president of the BRS-affiliated Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham, she quickly rebounded by becoming honorary president of the HMS-affiliated Singareni Miners and Engineering Workers’ Union on 31 August.
The election, held in Srirampur, Mancherial district, saw her name proposed by HMS General Secretary Riaz Ahmed, who later confirmed her appointment. The move strengthened her influence among workers in Telangana’s coal belt, a region long considered politically strategic.
Through her social media platform ‘Kavithakka Updates,’ she has maintained a steady stream of criticism against her political rivals. She has targeted Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar over alleged irregularities and corruption, keeping the BRS on the defensive.
On 5 October, she accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s government of showing “anger on the common people” after a bus fare hike, presenting herself as a voice for the masses.
She has also raised questions about corruption in Singareni Collieries and pledged to fight for transparency and workers’ rights.
Amid growing speculation about her next move, Kavitha has hinted that she may float a new political party “when people want,” suggesting she will let public sentiment guide her future course.
She has also not ruled out contesting from Siddipet, the bastion of Harish Rao, hinting at a potential family showdown.
Kavitha’s calculated strategy, combining cultural symbolism, social justice advocacy, and calibrated attacks, reflects her effort to prove she remains a force in Telangana politics. In her own words, she seeks to “restore dignity to politics” and inspire women to participate actively in public life.
Her growing assertiveness and methodical planning set her apart from leaders like YS Sharmila. For KCR and KTR, who may have hoped her expulsion would end her relevance, Kavitha’s resurgence is turning into a political headache.
Political analyst and senior journalist M Srinivasa Rao says Kavitha is “checking all the right boxes” since stepping out of her father’s shadow.
“She’s rebuilding her image carefully, brick by brick. She wants to show she can’t be written off,” he said. “She aims to become a significant political force and prove KTR wrong – that she’s a woman with fire in her.”
However, Rao noted that Kavitha cannot afford to attack her father directly, as KCR still commands deep public respect as the architect of Telangana. “That’s why she targets Harish Rao and Santosh Kumar instead. It’s her way of settling scores with the BRS for denying her space to grow in the party,” he said.
Rao doubts whether Kavitha can evolve into a state-level leader with widespread influence.
“Even KCR initially struggled to expand beyond North Telangana,” he said. “For now, Kavitha’s presence is strongest in Nizamabad and the coal belt.” He added that he cannot hazard a guess on whether she will convert Telangana Jagruthi into a political party.
“It’s too early to predict. Much will depend on the public response ahead of the next Assembly elections,” he said.
For now, Kavitha seems content to re-emerge as a force in Telangana politics, determined to prove her critics wrong. “She’s not like former AP Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister Sharmila,” Rao said, adding, “Sharmila is focused on family disputes, while Kavitha has political ambition and direction.”
As Kavitha rebuilds from the ground up, one thing is clear: she has unsettled both the BRS and the Congress, marking herself as a wildcard in Telangana’s fast-changing political landscape.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
