sibling-rivalries-trigger-political-tremors-in-telugu-states

A contrasting sibling rivalry in two high-profile political families has set off ripples in the Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In both the cases, it is the brother-sister battle that has set off a storm in political circles.

 

In Telangana, the rift between KT Rama Rao, the working president of the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and his sister K Kavitha revolves around who should inherit the mantle of the party founded by their charismatic father and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

 

In Andhra Pradesh, property dispute is at the centre of a bitter fight between the YSR Congress Party president and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his sister YS Sharmila who is the state Congress chief.

 

By anointing his son as the party working president in 2018, KCR had left no one in doubt about his succession plan but Kavitha, an ambitious former MP and a member of the state legislative council, has thrown her hat in the ring. Her recent letter to her father, outlining her candid assessment of the state of affairs in the party, exposed the infighting and power struggle in the family.

 

Also read: KTR asks T'gana CM to resign as ED names him in Herald case

 

The confidential letter which questioned, among other things, the leadership’s ‘soft approach’ towards the Bharatiya Janata Party and its inaccessibility to the cadre was leaked to the media, a development that infuriated Kavitha who alleged that there were ‘demons’ around KCR bent upon damaging the party.

 

Making light of his sister’s missive, KTR, a former minister, advised her to be careful while airing personal grievances in public. In a six-page handwritten letter, titled simply as "Daddy", Kavitha raised some pointed questions regarding his style of functioning and said his perceived soft stance towards the BJP, which is trying to emerge as a formidable challenger to the ruling Congress, was causing confusion among the party cadre. Such an approach, she argued, was adding fuel to the speculation that the BRS may join hands with the saffron party in future.

 

Kavitha, who was arrested and jailed briefly last year for her alleged role in the Delhi liquor scam, urged the party supremo to convene a special plenary to discuss political strategy and take the opinions of all leaders, particularly in the wake of speculation over the possible BRS-BJP deal. She voiced concern over the ruling Congress successfully spreading the narrative that the BRS has struck a deal with the BJP.

 

"Kindly reach out to everyone," she advised KCR in a veiled reference to his infamous inaccessibility, a factor that was largely attributed to the party’s debacle in the 2023 assembly polls.

 

After her letter set off a storm in the party circles, she admitted before the media that she indeed wrote that letter on May 2. “I have explained many times about the internal conspiracies happening in the party, yet no change was visible. That's why I had to convey it through a letter," Kavitha said.

 

Expressing dissatisfaction about the letter being leaked to the media, she clarified, "The letters I wrote before never came out. I don't know how this letter got leaked. We need to find out who leaked it." Alleging that conspiracies by certain party members were the root cause of problems, Kavitha said, "I don't have personal hatred against anyone, nor do I have a personal agenda. But one thing is true, our leader is KCR. KCR is my god. There are some demons around him who are causing huge damage to the party."

 

Public spat over properties

In the neighbouring state, Jagan is locked in a bitter feud with Sharmila over shares in properties worth several crores. Interestingly, Jagan’s mother YS Vijayamma has sided with her daughter and called for ‘justice, equity and dignity.’

 

The property dispute took an ugly turn with the siblings — now in opposite political camps — shooting off letters, accusing each other of deceit and betrayal and belittling the memory of their illustrious father and former chief minister of the combined Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhar Reddy. 

 

In October last year, Jagan Reddy filed a plea before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), accusing his sister of ‘illegally transferring’ the shares in the family-owned Saraswati Power and Industries Private Limited to herself and their mother YS Vijayalakshmi. 

 

In the petition, the YSRCP supremo mentioned that he initially intended to allocate shares to Sharmila "out of love and affection" for her. But, he withdrew the offer due to her “deceitful and deeply hurtful actions’.

 

Also read: Jagan Reddy slams CM Naidu over state finances

 

As the president of the state Congress, Sharmila had led a fierce attack on Jagan and his government during the 2024 election campaign. This was one of the factors that led to the defeat of the YSRCP in the assembly elections.  

 

The plea, filed under Section 59 of the Companies Act, sought rectification of the register of members. Jagan mentioned that he had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sharmila in August, 2019 stating that "out of love and affection" he would transfer his and his wife YS Bharati’s  shares of Saraswati Power and Industries through a gift deed to his sister. This was after Jagan pulled off a stupendous victory in that year's assembly polls and became the chief minister. He now wants the MoU to be revoked. 

 

Jagan alleged that the share transfers, carried out through a Board resolution on July 6, 2024, were done without the submission of duly executed share transfer forms or the original share certificates, as required under Section 56 of the Companies Act, 2013. It is clear that the share transfer happened after the change of guard in the state following June assembly polls.

 

He said he had formally informed her that he had no intention to honour the MoU and transfer the shares because there was ‘no love left in the relationship’.

 

According to Jagan, the properties acquired by their father and the ancestral ones were divided among the family members. He intended to transfer the shares, which were his own property, in addition to the ₹200 crore he had given to his sister directly or through their mother over the past decade.

 

Jagan alleged that to his "utter shock and surprise”, the company's board resolution had transferred the entire shareholding of himself, his wife, and Classic Realty (owned by the family) in favour of Sharmila and their mother. He further stated that Sharmila had no gratitude and regard for his well-being and that she conducted a series of actions that deeply hurt him and made several untrue and false statements publicly.

 

These actions were not only politically motivated but also blatantly untrue and caused him deep personal dissemination, Jagan claimed. As a result, the relationship between the siblings has strained, and there is "no love left between the two siblings."

 

Sharmila’s rebuttal

Sharmila wrote to Jagan and expressed "serious objection", flagging their father's "unambiguous" instruction "that all properties acquired with family resources during his lifetime should be divided equally between his four grandchildren".

 

She accused her brother of agreeing to that commitment when their father was alive but "after our father's death you refused." Their mother, she said, was a witness to his promise.

 

Sharmila also appeared to mock her brother over the "love and affection" protestations, saying any transfer of assets under such claims and listed in the MoU were "only in partial fulfilment" of their father's wishes. She dismissed his intention to scrap the MoU, saying it has no legal authority.

"You have done what our dear father would never have imagined... filed cases against his dear wife (our mother) and daughter (myself) to deprive his family of their legitimate share..." 

 

On the vexed issue of Saraswati Power shares, Sharmila claimed the intention had been to transfer on signing of the MoU. The MoU is a "continuing and binding document", she said.