HYDERABAD: In a major milestone, TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who announced the party's name change from Telangana Rashtra Samithi to 'Bharat Rashtra Samithi' (BRS) on Dasara, signalling his entry into national politics, has received the Election Commission's approval of his decision on Thursday.
The CM will hoist the flag of the BRS at Telangana Bhavan, the party's headquarters, on Friday after a formation ceremony. Incidentally, December 9 is the 13th anniversary of the announcement of Telangana statehood by then UPA home minister P. Chidambaram, in 2009.
At 1.20 pm, the auspicious time, he will CM will sign on the EC's official letter approving the party's name change and send it to the EC so that it can issue a notification in this regard.
In its letter, the EC said, "The commission has accepted your request for the change in the name of your party from TRS to BRS. The necessary notification in this regard will be issued in due course." In addition to hoisting the BRS flag on Friday to celebrate the occasion, the CM will take part in a ceremony to formally launch the BRS.
Sources said the party's symbol (car) and colour (pink) will remain the same since the party has only changed its name and BRS is not a new party. However, the party's flag will witness one change. The Telangana map on the flag will be replaced by the India map.
With this announcement, TRS's 21-year journey, which began on April 27, 2021, with the sole goal of securing Telangana's statehood, came to an end.
The TRS fought last election in its present form in the Munugode Assembly bypoll in November, which it won by trouncing BJP with nearly 10,000 votes. The TRS which achieved Telangana State in June 2014, won Assembly polls twice in 2014 and 2018 and ruling the state since its formation in June 2014, ended its spectacular political journey with a victory in Munugode bypoll.
As soon as the news of the EC's approval of the BRS spread, TRS leaders and workers celebrated in all districts, lighting crackers and distributing sweets. The CM asked the party's state executive committee members, party's district presidents, ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, zilla parishad chairpersons, and chairpersons of various corporations to attend the inaugural ceremony without fail.
