K Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, is hurting. She began her 72-hour hunger strike Monday, demanding 42 per cent reservation for backward classes in jobs, educational institutions and local bodies. Her party, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, is staying away from it.
While she is being trolled and ridiculed by political rivals as also party colleagues, nobody has come to her defense. Even her brother and the party’s working president, KT Rama Rao, hasn’t said a word. To make matters worse, she was dropped as honorary president of the Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS), a BRS-affiliated trade union.
Kavitha, a BRS legislator, has accused “party insiders” of encouraging those attacking her and also questioned the silence of BRS “brothers”.
So, what’s happening in the BRS’ ‘first family’? In August last year when she came out of Tihar jail on bail in the alleged liquor scam, her family was waiting for her outside. With tears in her eyes, she had kissed her brother KT Rama Rao’s hand. A year later, she is looking isolated and abandoned by the family.
The controversy surrounding her ‘letter bomb’ refuses to die down. Not because her father is upset about the letter, in which she expressed disagreement with his way of functioning, but because of how her party has reacted — by virtually abandoning her. Party insiders tell me that while the father did call the daughter “three or four times”, the brother has cut off all communication with her.
A succession war in BRS?
These developments are being interpreted in political circles as a full-blown succession war between Kavitha and KTR, with cousin Harish Rao keeping his ambitions in abeyance and pledging allegiance to KTR.
But it’s not as simple as that. Party insiders close to the BRS first family tell me that the man behind Kavitha’s current woes is not her brother. The one who triggered this storm is someone party circles are calling the ‘VK Pandian of Telangana’ — a reference to the former IAS officer in Odisha whose “control” over ex-CM Naveen Patnaik alienated Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders and eventually led to Patnaik’s fall from power.
In the case of the BRS’ family feud, it’s not an ex-IAS officer. It’s a close relative and KCR’s trusted confidant who, insiders say, has gained ‘control’ over the former CM. And it’s this person that Kavitha has taken up the cudgels against.
She has been hurting ever since her letter to KCR was “leaked” — a letter in which she questioned her father for being soft on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during his speech marking the BRS’ 25th anniversary. She said this gave the impression that the BRS and BJP could work together in the future.
The letter also flagged other concerns about the way her party leadership was functioning. It was ‘leaked’ while she was in the US visiting her elder son. Though she had sent the letter before leaving, many might find it strange that she chose to write rather than speak to her father, possibly a sign of a rift. The fact, however, is that she has been writing hand-written letters — not emails, which KCR doesn’t use — for years. The usual practice was that she would hand over a letter during a meeting, which he would read and respond to later. This time, Kavitha sent the letter through her mother, as she was sick and didn’t want to risk infecting her elderly father.
But when the letter surfaced just before her return to India, she was furious. She apparently saw a pattern — and a familiar hand, someone she always suspected of working against her. Party insiders say she suspects her cousin Joginapally Santhosh Kumar to be behind the leak. Santhosh is her mother Shobha’s sister’s son, who is like KCR’s “nurse and PA” who stays with him 24X7, taking care of him — much like Pandian did with Patnaik. This kind of access to an otherwise reclusive and inaccessible KCR has given him untrammelled clout. The BRS chief even rewarded him with a Rajya Sabha seat in 2018. Santhosh, for his part, vehemently denied the allegations in a conversation with ThePrint. But Kavitha, her aides say, won’t calm down unless her father sends Santhosh packing.
Kavitha’s ire, insiders say, is directed squarely at Santhosh. She hasn’t said so publicly, but her brother KTR’s silence — and the online trolling by BRS-associated handles — could have made her apprehensive of a larger game at play. The three brothers—KTR, Harish Rao and Santhosh Kumar—rule the roost in the party.
What next for Kavitha?
Over a decade ago, when KCR asked her to contest from Nizamabad, he made it clear that KTR would be his political heir. BRS leaders say Kavitha was “perfectly fine” with that. She knew that in Indian politics, sons are the preferred choices of fathers — and most mothers — no matter how competent the daughters may be.
There are instances galore. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be more articulate, have far bigger mass appeal, and show superior political acumen and leadership skills than her brother, but she must play second fiddle to Rahul Gandhi. Because that’s what Sonia Gandhi wants. Rahul remains her preferred prime ministerial face, regardless of the cost to the Congress.
But why blame only Sonia Gandhi? No matter how good a leader Kanimozhi might be, she was never seen as a contender for Karunanidhi’s legacy. Even in Meghalaya, a matrilineal society, it’s no different. I remember how fondly PA Sangma would speak of his daughter Agatha. He even sought Sonia’s forgiveness for his 1999 rebellion. His daughter Agatha later entered the Manmohan Singh government as a Minister of State. But when it came to naming a political heir, it was always going to be his son Conrad.
YS Sharmila, daughter of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, walked 3,000 km to build momentum for her jailed brother Jagan Mohan Reddy. Once he came to power, she was sidelined and had to leave the party. Credit to their mother, YS Vijayamma, who left her son and chose to stand by her daughter. She later said it was “deeply painful” to watch one child be wronged by another. Lalu Prasad Yadav would happily send his daughter Misa Bharti to Parliament, but his political legacy in Bihar must go to his son Tejashwi Yadav.
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Not all mothers show that courage
Look around. It’s the same story in every political party, every political family — as long as sons are available, daughters rarely inherit legacies. There are exceptions, like Supriya Sule. Didn’t Sharad Pawar fight it out with his nephew Ajit and even let the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) split just to ensure that his daughter becomes the heiress of his political legacy? True. But we don’t know what he would have done had he had a son, not a nephew, vying for the throne.
So no, Kavitha would not have been disappointed with her father making his succession plan clear at the very beginning of her political career. She was content being the BRS’ face in Delhi. Today, she is cornered. Her father does not seem inclined to listen to her complaint against Santhosh. And whether by default or design, her brother doesn’t look particularly concerned.
She couldn’t have been removed from the trade union without KTR’s consent. His silence now speaks louder than any statement.
Meanwhile, the BJP and Congress are watching these developments in the BRS with great interest. I met Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and state BJP president Ramchander Rao last week. Both consider BRS their enemy no. 1, albeit for different reasons. Reddy sees the regional party as his main rival. Rao says the BJP will first finish off BRS, and then dislodge the Congress from power.
BRS leaders close to Kavitha insist she is fighting for “self-respect” and nothing more. It’s not a succession war. Not yet, at least. Her bhaiyyas — brothers — obviously have different ideas.
Kavitha will visit Rama bhaiyya (KTR) this weekend to tie a rakhi on his wrist. Let’s see what gift he gives her in return.
DK Singh is Political Editor at ThePrint. He tweets @dksingh73. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)