Kalvakuntla Kavitha’s recent strategic moves are being viewed as highly damaging to the BRS party and as a calculated attempt to split its cadre even further. After being suspended from BRS, Kavitha resigned from both her MLC membership and her primary membership in the party.
During her media interaction on Wednesday, Kavitha ended with the slogan “Jai KCR.” Observers believe this was a deliberate, tactical move to draw the party’s dissatisfied members to her side, rather than a casual gesture.
By showing admiration for KCR, Kavitha is seeking to gain sympathy from BRS workers who are already frustrated with current MLAs, constituency in-charges, and senior leaders. Analysts say this move is aimed at consolidating support from these disenchanted groups within the party, especially those at the grassroots level.
Hurts Party Prospects
Political observers predict that such maneuvers, amid ongoing turmoil within BRS, could severely hurt the party’s prospects in upcoming by-elections in Jubilee Hills and in the local body elections. The BRS cadre is already split in two ever since Kavitha was suspended for anti-party activities.
In every district, one group is backing Kavitha, while another supports leaders like Harish Rao and Santosh Rao. This has deepened the divide, leaving the general cadre confused.
The infighting within the Kalvakuntla family has thrown the party cadre into uncertainty. As these developments unfold just before local elections, analysts believe they could inflict irreparable damage on BRS.
Following Kavitha’s suspension, competitive protests have erupted statewide. Her supporters, including members of Telangana Jagruthi, have been burning effigies of Harish Rao and Santosh Rao, while those leaders’ supporters have responded in kind against Kavitha.
Protests have been staged in places like Husnabad Chowrasta and in districts such as Jagityal, Nizamabad, Medak, Karimnagar, Nalgonda, and Warangal. These events underscore the growing antagonism between the two factions.
Recent electoral setbacks, such as BRS’s defeat in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections and the loss of a sitting position in the Cantonment by-election, and the inability to even contest the recent MLC elections, have been compounded by talk of a BRS-BJP merger and by Kavitha’s suspension.
These developments have further alienated the party’s grassroots cadre, as evidenced by BRS’s Lok Sabha vote bank dropping to 16.7%, according to political analysts.
With Kavitha’s suspension adding to the confusion, it’s believed that BRS leaders are now hesitant to contest the upcoming local body polls, fearing certain defeat. Some insiders say BRS candidates expect to suffer major losses from the Kavitha camp in rural areas and are therefore reluctant to stand in elections, believing loss is inevitable. Kavitha’s strategic actions are thus pushing the BRS cadre further away from the party.