ECI Orders K Kavitha to Change Telangana Rakshana Sena Party Name

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on July 4, 2026, directed K Kavitha in Hyderabad to change the name of her political party, Telangana Rakshana Sena, following formal objections raised by various stakeholders. The commission has ordered Kavitha to submit three alternative names for her political outfit within a 15-day deadline.

If Kavitha fails to respond to the directive and submit the alternative names within the stipulated 15-day period, the ECI stated that the party's registration application will be rejected without further notice.

The primary objection raised against the name Telangana Rakshana Sena points to its abbreviation, TRS. Stakeholders argued that using the TRS abbreviation could create significant confusion among voters. This is due to its similarity to the former name of K Chandrashekar Rao’s party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which also went by the abbreviation TRS before it was renamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in 2022.

The party's journey began earlier this year when Kavitha launched the new political outfit at Medchal on April 25. At the time of the launch, she initially named the party Telangana Rashtra Sena. Just three days later, on April 28, she renamed the organization to Telangana Rakshana Sena.

Before officially launching the political outfit, Kavitha had reached out to the ECI in February to propose five potential names. The proposed list of names included Telangana Praja Jagruthi, Telangana Jagruthi, Telangana Rakshana Sena, Telangana Rashtra Jagruthi, and Telangana Praja Shakthi. From these five options, she ultimately chose Telangana Rakshana Sena.

Initially, the ECI had permitted the proposed name of Telangana Rakshana Sena to be published for public notice. However, the commission made it clear at the time that final approval of the name would depend entirely on the nature of any objections received during the prescribed public notice period. Following the submission of multiple objections regarding the TRS abbreviation, the ECI issued its latest directive requiring the name change.