A letter written by Kavitha to her father, Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo and former Chief Minister of Telangana, has set the state’s political scene ablaze. At a time when her family party’s succession seemed to be a foregone conclusion, the lengthy handwritten note makes a strong pitch for her candidacy to lead the party. Beyond politics, the candid letter reflects KCR and Kavitha’s warm father-daughter relationship.
The ability to identify their party’s true rival and threat. The flexibility to build bridges with their rivals’ rivals. The ability to provide a vision and positioning for their party that differentiates it from their rival party. The ability to convince their party leaders that, when it comes to fulfilling their needs, they would be a better option than their competitors within the party. And finally, the ability to communicate and connect with the masses. These are some indispensable qualities any politician vying for their party’s leadership must have. The contents of the letter written by Kavitha leave no doubt that she possesses these essential qualities.
In the letter, Kavitha rightly identifies the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is ascendant in the state, as the primary rival and threat to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Pointing out that the BJP has already eaten the BRS’s lunch in the Lok Sabha elections and weakened the BRS to the extent that it could not muster confidence to put up candidates for the Legislative Council elections, the letter advocates targeting the BJP much more severely than what the party and KCR have been doing till now.
In a deft move, Kavitha praises KCR for not criticising Revanth in his speech at the party’s Silver Jubilee public meeting. The praise aims to send two critical signals to the party’s patriarch. Firstly, Revanth Reddy is a friend. A friend who, if treated properly, will continue to safeguard the BRS’s first family from numerous corruption charges, as he has done for the past 18 months. In contrast, the letter refers to her imprisonment in the Delhi Liquor Scam to emphasise that the BJP will never compromise on corruption. Secondly, it indirectly positions Kavitha as the most suitable interlocutor for the first family with Revanth Reddy, as their association dates back to the days when they were directors in a now-defunct company.
By praising KCR for condemning the BJP central government’s Operation Kagar, aimed at eliminating the Maoist menace in India, and suggesting that the party should have strongly opposed the amendments to the WAQF laws, Kavitha outlines a clear ideological vision and positioning for BRS. This positioning has the advantage of pitting the BRS squarely against the BJP while projecting an extreme leftist and appeasement stand. It aims to please the Communist parties and the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to draw them back into the BRS’s friendly fold. It also reminds KCR that only Kavitha, to differentiate BRS from BJP, can go to any length like KCR, including attacking nationalism, which is non-negotiable to the BJP. It is pertinent to note that KCR had earlier trivialised our armed forces’ surgical strikes. Similarly, Kavitha claimed India forcibly merged Kashmir.
The letter also addresses the concerns of the party’s second-rung leadership and core cadre. It highlights the neglect of party leaders who were critical in the Telangana agitation. It points out that a section has taken control of the party since KCR is not easily approachable. It highlights the cadre’s apprehensions that BRS will face the same dismal results if the same section controls ticket distribution for the upcoming local body elections. It is no secret who the target here is – KTR, her brother, controls the party as its executive working president.
No one in the party, including KCR, doubts Kavitha’s oratorial and organisational skills. She speaks Telugu, Hindi and English fluently. She proved her organisational skills by setting up and running Jagruthi. The letter also demonstrates her clear strategic thinking and ability to play realpolitik, making her a true successor to KCR.
Yet, the odds do not favour Kavitha. The history of succession in Indian Family Parties points to the herculean odds Kavitha faces. Women in family parties have risen to the top only when there were no male heirs; this holds for the two most powerful women leaders the country has seen, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The only other women leaders who made it to the top, like Mamata, Mayawati and the late Jayalalithaa, were self-made, not successors of their fathers.
If Kavitha eventually succeeds in taking over the reins of BRS, she will have made history. She will have upended the patriarchy which underpins every family party in India and shattered the established and visible concrete ceiling for women in dynastic politics.
(The author is BJP TS spokesperson)
