Two daughters of two former Telugu CMs are now almost waging a war to get hereditary rights over their fathers’ political legacy. For that, they have to lock horns with persons with whom they have an umbilical cord relationship.
One daughter’s attempt to claim a right over her father’s legacy is an open secret, while the other’s attempts are yet to take concrete shape. She has to decide whether to create a storm in her family and its political party. This daughter’s political pace seems to be facing uncertainty due to the strategic silence of the party’s leadership. That daughter is none other than Telangana Legislative Council Member Kalvakuntla Kavitha.
Kavitha, who is considered the pampered child of KCR, was given ample opportunities to grow politically. KCR made her actively involved in the TG movement by allowing her to float an organisation named ‘Telangana Jagruti’ for creating awareness among the people of Telangana on the need for having a separate state. She also faced arrests during the TG movement, and that enabled her to get a BRS Lok Sabha ticket from Nizamabad.
Irrespective of the feelings of the other family members, like her brother, BRS Working President K. Taraka Rama Rao (KTR), she could make it due to KCR. He defended his decision to give an LS ticket to his daughter by pointing to her participation in the T-Movement, and the fact that she braved police lathi-charges too.
She gained popularity after her elevation as an MP. Unfortunately, she got caught in the Delhi liquor scam in which the Aam Admi Party government was also allegedly involved and had to spend six months in Tihar Jail. This badly damaged the image of KCR and the BRS.
After getting bail in the Delhi liquor scam case, Kavitha preferred to remain indoors. Recently, she tried to clear the clouds of suspicion hanging over her regarding the Delhi liquor scam. But her father, KCR concluded that Kavitha would not be an asset anymore. She seems to have got annoyed by this and suspected that her brother KTR had a hand in sabotaging her political future.
The letter written by Kavitha to KCR narrated the developments that had taken place in the BRS. While praising her father as ‘God,’ she didn’t hesitate to complete the sentence by saying that her God-like father is surrounded by ‘demons.’ She accused some people of deliberately leaking her letter.
Now, it is interesting to find out what Kavitha could do in future. KTR has appealed to all BRS functionaries to discuss party issues only in internal fora without naming Kavitha. The issue might worsen if the father-son duo takes up the matter seriously. Sometimes, Kavitha might be given a role in party affairs. She is believed to be trying for parity with her brother in party affairs. But KCR has already given clear signals during his second term as Chief Minister that KTR would be his political successor.
Senior BRS functionary T. Harish Rao, who is KCR’s nephew, has been sidelined to pave the way for KTR. But Harish declared that he would continue to be with KCR. Political observers think that Harish would be very useful for the BJP or the TDP if he decides to join them.
At present, Kavitha can’t do anything without internal support in the BRS. Recently, during a TV programme, she said that she would ensure that liquor would have no place in public life if she becomes the Chief Minister. This gives credibility to the opinion of BRS cadres that Kavitha has high hopes.
The other former CM’s daughter is none other than the sister of former AP Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. YS Sharmila has been going slow politically as the APCC president. After YSR died in a helicopter crash in September 2009, Sharmila was active in the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) when it was in the opposition.
Sharmila’s brother YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, had to spend 16 months in jail after DA cases were filed against him by the CBI and the ED. During that time, Sharmila worked hard for the YSRCP even though Jagan had refused her a Lok Sabha ticket from Kadapa. But she ignored that and worked for the party by taking out a padayatra for several months. This helped the YSRCP to keep inertia at bay. But even after coming to power in 2019, Jagan ignored Sharmila, fearing that she might become another power centre in the YSRCP.
Peeved at the treatment meted out to her by Jagan, she went to Telangana and floated a new political party named YSRTP after her father, YSR. Despite taking out a padayatra in Telangana, she couldn’t find a conducive atmosphere. Then she decided to merge her party with the Congress and preferred to be in T-politics. But the Congress leadership sent her to Andhra Pradesh as the APCC chief, hoping that she would be able to neutralise Jagan.
If YSR had been alive, Sharmila would have got her share of her father’s political legacy. Her mother YS Vijayalakshmi sided with Jagan to stop her from coming in the way of her brother. Kavitha and Kanimozhi became MPs when their fathers were at the helm of affairs. But Sharmila didn’t have that luck to fulfil her dream of becoming an MP. Reviving the Congress in AP and making it get representation in the AP Assembly appears to be beyond the capacity of any leader, including Sharmila.
In this way, the hopes of the two beloved daughters of the two former Telugu CMs got dashed.
