Telangana poll results: How Revanth Reddy changed the game for Congress and catapulted the fortunes of KCR’s BRS
Within four years, Revanth Reddy rose to the position of Congress chief of state, taking over from senior leader N Uttam Kumar Reddy.
Telangana Assembly Election: With the Congress crossing the majority mark in Telangana, there are high chances that state party leader Revanth Reddy will become the chief minister of the state. According to the EC’s initial trends, the Congress leads with 65 seats, the BRS with 39 seats and the BJP with just 9 seats. On Sunday, Reddy met state DGP Anjani Kumar for the first time and then held a roadshow to the party headquarters in the city. Congress’s Revanth Reddy is leading comfortably from Kodangal and Kamareddy seats.
Who is Revanth Reddy
A two-time MLA and currently representing Malkajgiri in Lok Sabha, Revanth Reddy joined Congress in 2017. After his appointment as Telangana Congress chief in July 2021, Reddy became increasingly visible on the ground, leading street protests on a host of issues against the ruling BRS government.
How Revanth Reddy changed the game in Telangana
Political analysts believe that Revanth Reddy’s style of functioning as Telangana Congress chief won him votes in Telangana and it so happened that Reddy is leading against Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi K Chandrashekar Rao in BRS stronghold Kamareddy.
Learning lessons from Karnataka, where the visibility and prominence of local leaders paid off, Congress leaders backed Reddy to the hilt despite voices of protest from his rivals within the party.
Voters preferred Reddy in Kamareddy
What is interesting to note is that voters in Kamareddy, a BRS stronghold, voted significantly for the party after Telangana was declared a separate state in 2014. Reddy is also in charge in Kodangal, the second seat from where he is contesting.
Revanth Reddy had earlier predicted a landslide victory for his party and soon after the exit polls predicted a Congress victory in Telangana, Reddy said, “Congress is going to get a landslide victory this time and the same is reflected in the exit polls. We will get more than 80 seats.”
On becoming Chief Minister if Congress wins, he said, “There is a screening committee, a selection committee and then the CWC has to take a call (for CM). In Congress there is a process for everything. As PCC president, I will have to obey every order from the high command.”