Hyderabad: After Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party’s drubbing in the recently held Telangana Assembly elections, voices are being raised to change the party name back to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which it held for the nearly nine-and-a-half years since coming to power in the state. During the nine-day preparatory meeting for the BRS ahead of Lok Sabha elections, party leaders have been vocally calling for this name change.

Several former ministers, sitting MLAs, ex-MLAs and other prominent leaders are also supporting the demand for reverting to the TRS name. These preparatory meetings ahead of Lok Sabha elections began on January 3 at the Telangana Bhavan state party office and will continue through January 22. BRS working president KT Rama Rao, former ministers Harish Rao, Kadiyam Srihari, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and Niranjan Reddy are among other key party figures who are attending the meetings.

మహబూబాబాద్ పార్లమెంట్ నియోజకవర్గ సన్నాహక సమావేశంలో బీఆర్ఎస్ వర్కింగ్ ప్రెసిడెంట్ @KTRBRS

ప్రజలు మనకు పదేళ్లు అవకాశం ఇచ్చారు. అధికారంలోకి వస్తాం అని కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీ వాళ్ళు అనుకోలేదు. నోటికి ఏది వస్తే అది హామి అని చెప్పారు. ఆరు గ్యారెంటీలు అన్నారు. కానీ 420 హమీలిచ్చింది… pic.twitter.com/Ff8cdBHpbS
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) January 11, 2024

During these preparatory meetings, party cadres are being given a chance to express their views. The meeting was called to chalk out a strategy for the ensuing 2024 Lok Sabha elections, however, much of the feedback has centered on the reasons behind BRS’ defeat in the recent state elections. Party members have also raised concerns about organizational issues like the lack of party structure and deficiencies in functioning.

The party leaders have also pointed out that the TRS was originally formed with the aim of achieving statehood for Telangana. While the party was recently renamed BRS, it is still recognized as TRS among the people of the state. Members have argued that dropping 'Telangana' from the name of the party has led to the downfall of the government in the elections. They are insisting on reverting to the original TRS name as it will help regain this lost connection with people.

Some leaders have also argued that the recent Munugode bypoll victory came under the old TRS banner. They are also planning to submit a formal request to party chief K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) to revert back to the original TRS name. A senior BRS leader told ‘Sakshi’ that if KCR approves the proposal of reverting the name back to TRS, the name changing process can be completed before the commencement of campaigning for 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state.

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