The Congress party in Telangana gets new Lease Of Life with the new dynamic chief Revanth Reddy’s appointment despite much hue and cry from veterans and some position seekers.
By opting for A Revanth Reddy to lead the Telangana Congress out of the morass that it has found itself stuck in for over seven years now, the AICC has sent multiple signals to every stakeholder in the State – the Congress, the TRS, the BJP as well as the voters.
The AICC has signalled that it wants the Telangana Congress to be aggressive, assertive and combative in the State. It has signalled that it is bent upon shrugging off the tag of a weak, fumbling and directionless party. The Congress has sent a signal to the voters that it may be down, but it is definitely not out.
Despite objections, Revanth as TPCC president makes a lot of sense – the cash for vote case would not allow him to be soft towards the TRS. He has little room to manoeuvre, and the only option before him is to display a ferociousness that has not been seen in Congress leaders for some years now.
The Congress stock in the state has plummeted ever since the 2014 General Election which the party believed it would sweep, given the fact that it granted statehood to Telangana. It was this belief that led to many senior Telangana Congress leaders convincing the party high command not to offer the Chief Minister’s post to TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao. KCR took it as a slight, and when the people voted the TRS to power, he made it a mission to weaken the Congress in the State.
KCR’s moves met resounding success, to the extent that the Congress lost its position of being the principal opposition party since the deserting MLAs left it with less than 10 percent of the seats in the Assembly.
A shrewd politician, KCR dissolved the State Assembly months ahead of its term and went for early elections. This offset the calculations of the Congress and BJP, and allowed the TRS to sweep the 2018 Assembly elections as he was able to counter the ‘Modi wave’.
KCR’s deft moves and his willingness to poach Congress legislators forced the AICC to look for a leader who would not compromise.
Since the ‘cash for vote’ case involved top leaders, it came in handy for the ruling party to intimidate opponents. Rumours have it that the entire scam was executed allegedly at the behest of KCR
Revanth figures prominently in the case. His former boss and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu too fell prey.
Revanth was even arrested in the case – a fact that has ensured that come what may, he would not join hands with KCR. This factor alone should have swung the TPCC chief post in his favour.
The fact is that the Congress leadership knows that in the present situation in Telangana, no opposition leader can really be seen opposing KCR tooth and nail.
In fact, it has become a challenge for the Congress to even protect its flock from the powerful influence of KCR.
Vexed with this, the Congress has picked a new TPCC president who could, and would, deal with KCR without compromise.
The post of TPCC chief does matter since many believe that it would lead to the CM’s chair, should the party win the Assembly election. While this may not be entirely true, it does invite competition.
In the 1999 Assembly elections, both PCC presidents in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were believed to be automatic picks of the Congress high command for the CM’s post, if the party won. Congress emerged victorious in Karnataka and lost in AP. As per the expectations, then KPCC president SM Krishna was picked by Sonia Gandhi as Karnataka Chief Minister.
Had Congress won in AP too, YSR, who was the APCC president, too would have become CM. It’s another matter altogether that he led the Congress to a resounding victory in the subsequent election and became the CM.
Many become CLP leaders, but only some go on to become the CM even when the party wins the elections.
Revanth’s selection has led to the expected disgruntlement, and allegations that he is Naidu’s plant in the Congress.
This may be far-fetched since after the 2019 General Election fiasco that led to a humiliating defeat for both the TDP and Congress, his alliance partner, Naidu has been trying his best to attract the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Anything linking him and the Congress would be counterproductive to Naidu’s attempts to woo Modi.
With Revanth leading the Telangana Congress, everybody expects the party to play a crucial role in the forthcoming Huzurabad Assembly by-poll. However, it may not be proper to take the by-poll as a test of the new TPCC president’s leadership qualities. If the Congress shows aggressiveness in Huzurabad, it would lead to a triangular fight that would naturally help the TRS candidate and improve the Congress credibility. #KhabarLive #hydnews
