Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao renamed his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) four months ago in order to pursue his national political mission to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, KCR's identity is still closely tied to Telangana, and many people in the state have not yet come to terms with the fact that the TRS no longer exists. Despite KCR's appeal to the Election Commission of India not to register any new political party with the name Telangana Rashtra Samithi, there are currently at least six parties with names using the abbreviation TRS pending registration.
If any of these parties are registered, it could pose a challenge to the BRS and KCR in the next elections. While such parties may not have their own significant vote banks, confusion over party names could lead to the BRS losing votes. However, the BRS still has the car symbol, which may help it retain support in the next elections.
It is rumored that a former MP from Telangana has applied to register the title Telangana Rythu Samithi, and if he is unable to join the Congress or the YSR Telangana Party, he may even float a new party using the TRS abbreviation.
