Revanth Reddy, the man of the moment, who led Cong to victory in Telangana

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Revanth Reddy, the man behind the victory of Congress, is the frontrunner for the post of Chief Minister. He is a bitter critic of KCR and his family while his oratory skills and aggressive approach won him brownie points. Hence, he was picked up by the high command as the new TPCC chief. Since then, he never looked back though he had faced initial hiccups, he took on BRS and led the party to victory.

Hyderabad: The Congress party, which was waiting in the wings to come to power in Telangana, finally tasted success under the leadership of Anumula Revanth Reddy, the PCC chief and the man of the moment. Congress leaders and workers are on cloud nine as under his leadership the party has seen a dramatic turnaround in its fortunes in Telangana.

Though the Congress faced humiliating defeats in by-polls and serious challenges to his leadership from within the party, he led the Congress from the front. With the full support of the high command and an effective strategy, Revanth Reddy gave the grand old party the much-needed victory in its stronghold.

The Congress party, which was not doing well in Telangana, till a few months ago, tasted success in neighbouring Karnataka and that gave a morale boost in the party's rank and file. The Congress chalked out a strategy, which was implemented in Karnataka and that paid dividends in Telangana, too. Similarly, it used the anti-incumbency wave against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Revanth Reddy campaigned not only in constituencies in Kodangal and Kamareddy where he challenged Chief Minister KCR, but also addressed election rallies across the state. He addressed 55 public meetings in various constituencies to improve the party’s prospects.

The TPCC chief reached out to disgruntled leaders in the BRS and the BJP and invited them to join the Congress party. He also succeeded in persuading the central leadership to give them tickets despite facing opposition from within the party. Though Revanth Reddy is considered an outsider by a section of veteran Congress leaders, even his critics within the party admit that his hard work played a key role in the party's victory.

A bitter critic of KCR and his family, Revanth Reddy’s aggressive brand of politics reminded many of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, one of the most popular leaders of the Congress party in undivided Andhra Pradesh. The Congress party, which could not come to power in 2014 and 2018 despite claiming credit for carving out Telangana state, was looking for a leader, who could revive its fortunes in its traditional stronghold.

Revanth Reddy fought against all odds and reached the expectations of the high command, say political analysts. It may be recalled that when Revanth Reddy was chosen by the central leadership to lead the party in Telangana in 2021, many senior leaders, who were in the race for the post, were shocked as he switched over his loyalties from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) prior to the 2018 Assembly polls. Revanth's appointment has not gone down well with veteran leaders and a senior leader levelled allegations against a central leader that he took bribes from Revanth Reddy to appoint him to the post.

However, the Congress high command remained firm as they assumed that his mass appeal and aggressive approach could revive the fortunes of the party. Though some senior Congress leaders did not have cordial ties with Revanth Reddy, they had to accept the high command’s choice.

It may be noted that Revanth had lost the Assembly elections in 2018 from the Kodangal Assembly constituency on a Congress ticket, but he raised like a phoenix and won from Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency in 2019. Despite the controversies surrounding him, the 53-year-old firebrand is seen by many as the only leader who could take on KCR and his family.

“The credit for the party’s victory goes to Revanth Reddy. Under his leadership the party gained momentum and aggressively took on KCR,” said political analyst Palwai Raghavendra Reddy. With good oratory skills, Revanth Reddy is vocal in attacking the BRS government over alleged scams and its failure on various fronts.

Apart from that he enjoys a good following among the youth. During the campaign, BRS leaders and the leaders of AIMIM slammed Revanth Reddy and branded him an RSS man. While Revanth Reddy admitted that he was with the ABVP during his student days, he denied any association with the RSS. Revanth Reddy was a member of all three major political players in the state TRS, TDP and Congress.

Revanth Reddy hails from Kodangal in Mahabubnagar district and he began his political career with the TRS (now BRS) in 2003. He quit the party two years later after he was denied a chance to contest. Contesting as an independent, he became a Zilla Parishad Territorial Committee (ZPTC) member in 2006. Later, he was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council in 2008 as an independent candidate. The same year he joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

In 2009, he was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly from Kodangal. He became close to TDP President and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Emerging as one of the key faces of the TDP, he was impressive with his articulation both in the Assembly and outside.“He used to enthusiastically participate in the debates and always came prepared with facts and figures,” said an analyst.

Revanth Reddy was re-elected from Kodangal in 2014. However, the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh had weakened the TDP in Telangana. In 2015, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) caught him while he was trying to bribe nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson to make him vote for the TDP candidate in the Legislative Council elections.

ACB had laid the trap on Stephenson’s complaint and when Revanth Reddy, along with three others came to the MLA’s house with Rs 50 lakhs cash, they were arrested by ACB sleuths. The episode was recorded on camera. Revanth Reddy was in jail for more than six months before he was granted bail.

Since then, he has been maintaining a low profile. In October 2017, he resigned as an MLA and also quit the TDP. He vowed to fight for the ‘liberation of Telangana from KCR’s autocratic rule’ and later joined the Congress party. He built a strong network within the party and soon became close to the top leadership.

He was rewarded with the post of the working president of the TPCC. During the campaign for the 2018 elections, he triggered a row by projecting himself as the Chief Ministerial candidate. Despite the defeat in the Assembly elections, the party fielded him in the Lok Sabha polls held a few months later. Following his victory he cemented his position in the party. (With agency inputs)

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