A major political development is unfolding in Telangana. K. Kavitha, a member of the legislative council (MLC) and daughter of former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), was suspended from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for alleged anti-party activities. She subsequently resigned from the party and her MLC post. This comes as the new Congress government, led by chief minister A. Revanth Reddy, tables a report on alleged corruption in the massive Kaleshwaram irrigation project and, curiously, refers the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) – an agency he recently accused the Union government of weaponising. To understand these moves and more, The Wire spoke with K. Srinivas, a senior journalist and former editor at Andhra Jyothy. Below are excerpts from the interview:Let’s start with K. Kavitha’s resignation. How significant is this development for Telangana and BRS politics?It is a significant development with clear consequences. Kavitha’s expulsion and subsequent resignation will have a definite impact on both the state’s and BRS’s politics.In her press conference, Kavitha said she would consult supporters before deciding her next move. What is the narrative she is trying to build?Her press conference aimed to fine-tune a narrative she has been developing internally for the last 100 days. She initially targeted unnamed “demons” around KCR. Later, she explicitly named Santhosh Rao, KCR’s nephew and a Rajya Sabha member, as the key figure in KCR’s coterie who controls access and makes critical decisions for the party.More recently, after returning from the US, she also began pointing a finger at Harish Rao, another nephew of KCR and the former irrigation and finance minister.Kavitha now makes a distinction between KCR’s “core family” – KCR, his son K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), and herself – and the “peripheral family”, which includes Santhosh and Harish. She alleges that these two are pressuring KCR to isolate her. Even after resigning, she is appealing to KCR to be wary of them, claiming they are harming the party. She has also openly challenged the state government to investigate Santhosh Rao’s alleged financial scams.Kavitha claimed that Harish Rao and chief minister Revanth Reddy are “hand in glove”. Is she trying to discredit the Kaleshwaram probe or create a rift between KTR and Harish Rao?The timing of her allegations seems more tactical than directly related to the Kaleshwaram scam itself. She is using this moment to launch serious allegations against Harish Rao, claiming he brought a bad name to KCR through corruption related to the project as he was the irrigation minister. She now alleges Harish Rao and Revanth Reddy flew to Delhi together for deliberations against the BRS.By doing this, she wants to counter the allegations that she herself is working for Revanth Reddy or the BJP. She is positioning herself as an independent force. While she mentioned issues like sand mining and allocation of forest lands, she has not yet offered specific evidence for her claims against Harish Rao and Santhosh Rao.She also warned her brother KTR that he would soon face the same fate she has. What does this reveal about the family dynamic?While she publicly warns her brother about the “wolves in sheep’s clothes,” Kavitha’s fundamental grievance is with KCR and KTR. She has shared with close associates that she feels discriminated against within the family due to patriarchy, with her father consistently preferring her brother and sidelining her with unimportant roles.She wanted to be the third most important figure after KCR and KTR, but felt she was relegated to fifth or sixth place behind Harish and Santhosh. Kavitha is an ambitious person who has openly stated she is “chief minister material” and aims to achieve that goal within 10 to 15 years.This situation is being compared to that of Y.S. Sharmila, sister of the Andhra Pradesh chief minister, who also broke away from her family. How apt is this comparison?Kavitha has herself rejected that comparison. While there are similarities in that both women feel snubbed for being as aspirational as their brothers, there are many differences. Sharmila entered politics only after her father’s death and during her brother’s imprisonment. Kavitha, by contrast, has been politically active since 2006, building a base through a cultural front, working with labour unions, and recently taking up the cause of backward caste (BC) reservations. She has consistently tried to work on public issues.What is Kavitha’s current political strength? Could a new regional party emerge from this?It seems that Kavitha has her mother’s support, but as of now, she lacks the backing of any prominent BRS leaders, MLAs or MLCs. Her cadre is mostly the youth and some from BC communities.There is an appetite in Telangana for another regional party. Voters defeated the BRS partly because it relinquished its Telangana-specific ideals to become a national party. People might accept a genuine new Telangana party. While many once expected Harish Rao to split from BRS, he always reconciled with KCR. Kavitha may be the one to set up a new party, perhaps in two or three months.Why is Revanth Reddy pursuing the Kaleshwaram probe via the CBI now? Could it be a distraction?Yes, it could be a distraction. Revanth Reddy inherited a government with no money and a heavy debt burden, and he has blamed the previous government for his inability to act. His early initiatives have been controversial or have failed. A tightrope walker, he needs diversions.However, Telangana voters have already punished KCR at the polls. While they see the BRS leadership as arrogant, they still like KCR and may not want to see him jailed. Pushing the issue too far could backfire on Revanth and help KCR regain sympathy.Where does the BJP stand in all this?The BJP in Telangana appears to be in disarray. The recent appointment of their state president was not well-received, and the party’s leaders are not actively criticising the ruling Congress party; their attacks are still mostly directed at the BRS. They are not taking up public issues nor are they in an agitation mode. It seems they are not in a hurry to capture Telangana, and I doubt they will retain the eight parliamentary seats they are aiming for.In this entire family drama, what does it all mean for the ordinary citizen of Telangana?Most people have forgotten the original aspirations of the Telangana statehood movement. Participants – engineers, teachers, academics – expected a say in governance and a participatory development model. But once the state was formed, the TRS (now BRS) declared itself a conventional political party, not a movement. There was no consultation with local intelligentsia, and people quickly became disillusioned.The feeling that Telangana’s development should be people-centric remains strong in civil society. They are searching for a leader or organisation that can put these ideas into practice. No existing party seems capable or inclined to do so. Kavitha is speaking a different language, which might be entertaining and give some people hope for a time, but people here are always ready for disappointment.