Power & patriarchy: From Karunanidhi vs MGR to KCR’s children, why succession in regional parties often ends in a coup

M Karunanidhi vs MG Ramachandran, N Chandrababu Naidu vs Lakshmi Parvathi, MK Stalin vs MK Alagiri, Uddhav vs Raj Thackeray, Shivpal vs Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi vs Tej Pratap Yadav, the big succession question has haunted every regional party for decades and has almost always been settled through a coup. The recent suspension and subsequent resignation of Kavitha Kalvakuntla from BRS has brought the focus again on family-run regional parties and raised the uncomfortable question of patriarchy.

ET takes a look at the anatomy of the latest power struggle in BRS and the questions it has raised.

BLOOD IS THICKER
Just two days before her resignation from BRS' primary membership, Kavitha trained her guns on her cousins, former irrigation minister Harish Rao and former Rajya Sabha MP Santosh Kumar. Both are considered her father and BRS founder K Chandrasekhar Rao's confidantes and gatekeepers. Whispers in Telangana's political circles suggest that even KCR's son KT Rama Rao (KTR) sometimes does not have access as free as Harish Rao and Santosh.

In April 2001, KCR formed his own party Telangana Rashtra Samithi, now christened BRS. Harish Rao has been helping KCR in his Telangana movement since then. He has built the party brick-by-brick travelling to rural parts of the then united Andhra Pradesh and giving momentum to KCR's separate-Telangana call. He fought his first election from Siddipet in 2004 in united Andhra Pradesh and has long been considered KCR's pointsperson. However, this was the phase when KTR and Kavitha were living abroad. Once KCR decided to push for his statehood demand, the children, especially KTR, took centre stage.

the GENDER QUESTION
The current crisis in BRS is a reminder of the rift between YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his sister YS Sharmila. After former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy's death, his son Jagan Mohan left Congress to float his own outfit YSRCP. His sister Sharmila stood firmly behind him and even campaigned for him. Trouble started when Jagan came to power in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh elections. Sharmila found herself being ignored by the party. Jagan's aides maintain that he was surprised that Shramila nurtured any political ambition. Though their mother YS Vijayamma was honorary president of YSRCP, Jagan slowly moved his mother out of the party. The brother-sister duo had a bitter falling out and Sharmila launched YSR Telangana party in 2021. Sharmila merged her party with the Congress ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls and was made president of Congress' Andhra Pradesh unit.

The siblings are battling over ₹38,000 crore in Saraswati Power and other companies as well as 20 acres of land in Yelahanka. Jagan has accused Sharmila of illegally transferring shares of Saraswati Power and Industries Pvt Ltd to herself and their mother. She has cited their father's "unambiguous" order "that all properties acquired with family resources during his lifetime should be divided equally between his four grandchildren". The difference between the two is that Jagan has charted his own course and established a political party on his own.

choosing political heirs
The latest feud within KCR's family has brought to fore the question of patriarchy also. In Indian political system, especially in a regional party, it has traditionally been the son and not the daughter who is preferred as the political heir. Patriarchs have found a novel way of dividing their legacy between the son and daughter. M Karunanidhi, for instance, encouraged daughter K Kanimozhi to be the party's voice in Delhi. The tussle between Stalin and Alagiri was settled gradually as the former found widespread support among party cadres.

KCR tried to follow the same model by projecting Kavitha as his party's face in Delhi and KTR his political heir in the state. However, this did not work out as Kavitha lost her parliamentary election in 2019, something she termed as internal sabotage. Things came to a head with BRS rout in the 2023 assembly elections. KCR is keeping poor health and has retreated to his farmhouse. This has embittered an already strained relationship between the brother and sister. With her resignation from the party's primary membership, Kavitha does not have the family's name or legacy to bank upon. The battle for political succession in BRS will be another interesting tale.