For the first time in the last two decades, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (earlier Telangana Rashtra Samithi) is celebrating Bathukamma festival without its prominent icon – Kalvakuntla Kavitha, daughter of party president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
All said and done, Kavitha was instrumental in giving a new image to Bathukamma festival all these years. In fact, Kavitha became a synonym for Bathukamma festival and the BRS had left the responsibility of using the festival for its political needs all these days.
Now that Kavitha is out of the BRS and charted her own plan of carrying forward the Bathukamma festival campaign through her organisation Telangana Jagruthi, the BRS is now looking for an alternative leader to replace her as the new Bathukamma icon.
According to party sources, KCR is learnt to have entrusted the responsibility of giving a new image to the party’s Bathukamma campaign to former BRS MLA and ex-deputy speaker of the assembly Padma Devender Reddy.
A close follower of BRS leaders T Harish Rao and K T Rama Rao, Padma Devender Reddy had been actively involved in Bathukamma festivities, along with Kavitha when the latter was active in the BRS.
Now, Padma Devender Reddy has to take care of Bathukamma festivities on behalf of the BRS this year.
On Thursday, she, along with other women members of the BRS released three Bathukamma songs at Telangana Bhavan, each highlighting the failures of the Congress government.
Apart from Padma Devender Reddy, the programme was attended by former ministers P Sabita Indra Reddy, Satyavathi Rathod, V Sunitha Lakshma Reddy, MLA Kova Lakshmi, former MP Maloth Kavitha, , former ZP chairpersons, and GHMC corporators.
The BRS leaders conveniently ignored the contribution of Kavitha and credited KCR for giving a global recognition to Bathukamma, pointing out how the festival became a symbol of cultural pride and resistance during the statehood movement.
They said the newly released songs would help women fight the Congress government with the same spirit. After the release, the women leaders played Bathukamma for the new songs, sending out a symbolic political message.
Kova Lakshmi and Padma Devender Reddy pointed out that Chandrashekhar Rao made Bathukamma and Bonalu festivals as official events, gifted sarees to women, and turned these festivals into a people’s movement.