Hyderabad (TIP)- Seeking to expand its electoral footprint beyond Telangana, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Wednesday changed its name to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Over two decades after the founding of the party with the objective of carving out a separate Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, the party adopted a unanimous resolution at its general body meeting here, rechristening it as BRS. Now, the goal is to take on the BJP and emerge as a national force to reckon with, bringing together like-minded parties. The decision was announced by TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in the presence of special invitees, including former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

Rao released a letter that has been sent to the Election Commission of India (ECI) informing it of the development. It was earlier decided that the announcement on the name change and character of the party would be made on the occasion of Dasehra at 1.19 pm, the time considered “auspicious” for the new beginning.