Kalvakuntla Kavitha officially launched her political party, Telangana Rashtra Sena (TRS), on April 25. The party’s name has piqued curiosity as it closely resembles Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi's (BRS) earlier name.
Notably, Telangana Rashtra Samithi was founded by her father, K Chandrashekar Rao, from which Kavitha was suspended. She will now be using the acronym TRS.
Kavitha unveiled the party’s name and flag at an event in Advaya Conventions in Muneerabad Hyderabad.
She said that she felt the need to launch a new party as the BRS, who are in opposition, and particularly her father, has absolved his responsibilities.
Kavitha said that apart from bifurcation that was accomplished 12 years ago, Telangana’s dreams have not been realised. “The Telangana revolution chariot which was spearheaded by the then KCR has meandered away,” she added.
According to Kavitha the “social juggernaut” of Telangana has stopped after achieving statehood.
Attacking the BRS government (then TRS) who formed the government immediately after the state was formed, she added. “We had thought that if we got a new state our shackles would be broken. But farmers were handcuffed. The love for sand mining resulted in attacks on Dalits in Nerella. There were deaths. No freedom to speak freely. There was constant surveillance. It is 100% true that we did not get the Telangana which we dreamt of.”
The new TRS is yet to announce its party symbol as they are awaiting the Election Commission approval. But the party colours were evident as streamers in yellow, green and blue flooded the auditorium as Kavitha commenced her speech. The Telangana Rashtra Sena’s (TRS) flag consists of all three colours with TRS written in the centre inside a blue coloured map of Telangana.
Acknowledging her own connections to the BRS, she added, “I am also part of the family which had ruled the state then. For a few reasons I am ashamed of it. I seek forgiveness from the people of Telangana. But at the same time, I am incredibly proud of achieving Telangana. I think my life is blessed because of it.”
She added that as “repentance”, the newly-launched Telangana Rashtra Sena will work for the people.
Adding that the BRS has “lost its soul”, Kavitha said, “Only when the governance is undertaken like a mother, she will be heartbroken if anything bad happens to their children. Only when governance happens through empathy, the state will prosper.”
Attacking her father, she said, “The present KCR is a changed man. A robot. When people are crying about demolished houses. Did he come? No.” KCR is a prisoner under the grip of wolves and foxes,” she said in what appears to be a reference to her cousins T Harish Rao and J Santosh.
Alleging that it was KCR’s attitude towards the people that failed him in the elections, Kavitha added that he should stand by the people like a father figure despite being rejected.
“Where is KCR when there is a wicked man on a spree of demolishing houses and hurting people? That is why I have launched this party,” she said.
The party’s launch comes eight months after she resigned from the BRS, immediately after KCR suspended her from the party for alleged anti-party activities. The split emerged amid tensions within the party, with Kavitha on one side, and her brother KT Rama Rao and cousins T Harish Rao and Joginapally Santosh Kumar on the other.
Kavitha accused Harish and Santosh of conspiring against her and warned her brother and father not to trust them. She has also blamed them for the corruption allegations against KCR regarding the Kaleshwaram irrigation project.
In September 2025, Kavitha resigned from her post as MLC. Since then, she has been working with her organisation, the Telangana Jagruthi. The organisation was once the cultural wing of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
Kavitha has previously accused the BRS of drifting away from its core values: Telangana’s regional aspirations. At the time, she said that she would focus on these unfulfilled aspirations and promised that ‘Telangana’ would be included in the new party’s name. Kavitha has said earlier that she will contest the next Assembly elections from either Siddipet or Bodhan. KCR represented Siddipet for nearly two decades until 2004, and since then, his nephew Harish Rao has been representing it.
KCR floated the TRS in 2001 amid the Telangana statehood movement. He spoke of Telangana’s neglect in united Andhra Pradesh and promised water, funds, and jobs. In 2022, the TRS was renamed BRS with plans to expand to other parts of the country.
However, it subsequently faced major electoral losses in both the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections and the 2024 general election. A section of BRS leaders reportedly demanded that the party revert to its previous name. In their view, the party had distanced itself from its core ideals and lost its connection with the people after it dropped Telangana from its name.
Kavitha too recently said that the name TRS was open for use, triggering speculation that she might use the name or at least the abbreviation for her own party. Within days, her brother and BRS working president KTR also hinted to mediapersons that the party might revert to its old name.