The just concluded Lok Sabha elections in Telangana was definitely a litmus test for Pradesh Congress Committee president and chief minister A Revanth Reddy, as it is a sort of referendum not only on his government but also on his leadership.
The Congress high command, which was impressed by the show put up by Revanth Reddy in the last assembly elections, has given him a free hand in the selection of candidates for Lok Sabha elections.
Despite stiff competition from several leaders and pressures from his senior cabinet colleagues, Revanth Reddy had his say in the selection of some candidates, if not all. He has taken a calculated risk in fielding them in the elections.
Now that the polling is over, there is a tension in Revanth Reddy camp which is wondering whether his gamble paid off in the elections.
Some of the candidates chosen by Revanth Reddy brushing aside the competition in some constituencies are learnt to have faced a tough battle.
For example, in Mahabubnagar, Revanth Reddy lobbied for the party ticket to his follower Ch Vamsi Chand Reddy and pitched him against senior leader from Bharatiya Janata Party D K Aruna, who has given a tough fight in the elections.
In 2019, Aruna stood in the second place and lost to BRS candidate Manne Srinivas Reddy by a margin of 70,000 votes. And Vamsi Chand Reddy stood in the third position. The difference between Aruna and Vamsi was more than 1.40 lakh votes.
It shows the popularity of Aruna compared to Vamsi. Unless the BRS votes were split and polled in favour of Vamsi in a big way, he might find it difficult to win, sources said.
Similarly, in Bhongir parliamentary constituency, Revanth Reddy managed to get the party ticket for his follower Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, ignoring the recommendations of Komatireddy brothers. The BJP has fielded former MP Bura Narsaiah Goud, who has a good image among the people.
The constituency is dominated by OBCs, particularly Goud community and hence, Narsaiah Goud is learnt to have gained a good percentage of votes from them. And Kiran Kumar Reddy had to struggle a lot to get the acknowledgement from the people.
“It is believed that Komatireddy brothers did not cooperate much with Kiran Kumar Reddy. If that is true, then he might not win the seat,” sources added.
