టీఆర్ఎస్ నుంచి బీఆర్ఎస్ వరకు: కేసీఆర్ పార్టీ పుట్టుక కథ

TRS to BRS: How KCR's party was born in 2001

April 27, 2001. A small gathering at Jaladrishya in Hyderabad. Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), who had resigned from the Telugu Desam Party and the post of Deputy Speaker of the then united Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, announced the formation of the "Telangana Rashtra Samithi" (TRS). With one goal — a separate Telangana state. Many saw it as just another small regional party that day. But within thirteen years, the same party came to power in the new state.

Why was it born?

After the 1969 Telangana movement, the demand for a separate state cooled down for almost three decades. But the feeling of injustice in water, funds and appointments remained among the people. In the late 1990s, intellectuals like Professor Jayashankar wrote on these issues with statistics. In this context, KCR felt that a political platform was needed. The slogan "Water, Funds, Appointments" became the hallmark of TRS.

First elections and coalitions (2004–2009)

In the 2004 elections, TRS allied with Congress. It won 26 assembly seats and 5 Lok Sabha seats. KCR became the Labour Minister in the UPA government at the Centre. However, the party pulled out of the government after the Centre did not take any initiative on Telangana. In 2009, it contested as a "grand alliance" with the TDP and the Left parties, but it did not get the desired results. Many questions arose then about the future of the party.

Hunger Strike — Turning Point (2009)

On November 29, 2009, KCR began a hunger strike saying, "Telangana will come, KCR will be right." He was arrested and taken to NIMS Hospital in Khammam and later to Hyderabad. Students from Osmania and Kakatiya Universities took to the streets. After eleven days of tension, on December 9, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced that the process of forming a Telangana state would begin. Although the announcement was later shelved, the movement did not back down. TRS became the focal point of the movement.

State achievement, power (2014)

In February 2014, the Parliament passed the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill. On June 2, 2014, Telangana came into being as the 29th state in the country. In the elections held the same year, TRS came to power, winning 63 out of 119 seats. KCR was sworn in as the first Chief Minister. In 2018, it went to early elections and returned even stronger with 88 seats.

TRS to BRS (2022)

The party's name was changed to "Bharat Rashtra Samithi" (BRS) on October 5, 2022, with the aim of playing a role in national politics. There were also attempts to expand into states like Maharashtra. However, some activists did not like the removal of the word "Telangana" from the name.

After 2023

In the December 2023 assembly elections, BRS was limited to 39 seats and sat in the opposition. It could not win a single seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The question before the party now is — how to re-establish its identity as a movement party?

Conclusion

It is a rare example in Indian politics that a regional movement has become a political party, achieved its goals, and come to power. The rise of TRS-BRS is inseparable from the modern history of Telangana.

Photo: Ministry of Labour and Employment / Wikimedia Commons (GODL-India)