Ideologically poles apart: KTR rules out BRS-BJP alliance in Telangana

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao ruled out an alliance with the BJP at the India Today Conclave South 2026, saying the parties were ideologically “poles apart”.

“Our party is 26 years old. We never had any alliance with the BJP,” KTR said, rejecting speculation that has persisted since the BRS lost power in 2023.

He maintained that the party’s shift from Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to BRS in October 2022 had not changed its ideology. “If the DNA has not changed, the ideology has not changed, then nothing changes,” he said.

Asked whether he would be the BRS’s chief ministerial face in the next Assembly election, KTR said, “Absolutely not,” and named K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).

He expressed confidence that the party would return to power after its 2023 defeat. “Our comeback will be bigger than our setback,” he said.

His remarks at the annual conclave also included criticism of the BJP’s promises on delimitation and a demand for greater transparency in voter roll revision.

SPECULATION DESPITE REPEATED DENIALS

The BRS’s electoral setbacks, defections and Congress allegations of an understanding with the BJP have kept alliance speculation alive despite repeated denials.

After losing power in 2023, the BRS drew a blank in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress and BJP won eight seats each in Telangana, while AIMIM retained Hyderabad. Leaders leaving the BRS added to questions about its future.

Ahead of the 2024 polls, Union Minister and then Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy said the party would contest independently. BJP MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar also ruled out a tie-up.

A letter from KCR’s daughter K Kavitha alleging that BRS leaders were steering the party towards the BJP fuelled speculation in 2025. However, the BJP denied any merger proposal, but claimed several BRS leaders wanted to join the party.

In March 2026, Telangana BJP chief N Ramchander Rao again ruled out an alliance, calling the decision final, after BRS leaders joined his party.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, however, predicted in April that the next major contest would pit a Congress-Left-Telangana Jana Samithi alliance against a BRS-BJP combine.

He also accused the two parties of feigning conflict and challenged KCR to rule out a future tie-up.

‘WHY INCREASE PARLIAMENT SEATS?’

At the conclave, KTR criticised the BJP’s position on delimitation, saying the proposed exercise appeared to penalise states that had followed population control measures.

He said parliamentary seats had been readjusted after successive censuses before their number was frozen based on the 1971 Census. Allocating seats afresh by population, he argued, could reduce those states’ relative representation.

KTR asked why increasing Assembly seats was not being prioritised over parliamentary seats.

“If you want to do delimitation, why not increase MLA seats? They are the first point of contact for anyone. Why increase Parliament seats?” he asked.

He favoured retaining the current number of parliamentary seats and expressed support for proportional representation.

KTR said he did not trust the BJP’s assurances, accusing it of failing to fulfil promises made to Telangana after Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation in 2014.

SIR NEEDED, BUT QUESTIONS OVER PROCESS

On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, KTR supported the need to update voter lists but questioned how the exercise was being conducted.

“SIR is nothing new to India. It has happened several times in the past. A revision of the voter list is what we ought to do,” he said.

He claimed that the largest number of voter deletions in Telangana had occurred in constituencies won by the BRS in 2023 polls.

KTR said the BRS had raised its concerns with the Election Commission and sought greater transparency and consultation with stakeholders, but the process had fallen short of its expectations.

With Assembly elections two years away, KTR said the BRS had time to seek judicial intervention.

“Our elections are two years away. That’s good news, so we have the opportunity to knock on the doors of the judiciary, unlike Bihar or Bengal, where SIR happened around election time,” he said.