It will be an interesting battle in Kodangal between Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy and the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Revanth Reddy, a front runner for the chief minister’s post if the Congress comes to power, may find the going tough with the BRS working aggressively to defeat him once again on his home turf in undivided Mahabubnagar district.
Though Revanth Reddy has also entered the fray from Kamareddy against Chief Minister and BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), the BRS is focusing on wresting Kodangal.
A two-time MLA from Kodangal, Revanth Reddy had suffered a shocking defeat in 2018 at the hands of Patnam Narender Reddy of the TRS (now BRS) by a margin of 9,319 votes.
The Congress, however, fielded him in the Lok Sabha elections from Malkajgiri in Greater Hyderabad and Revanth Reddy did not disappoint the leadership. He defeated his nearest rival Marri Rajasekhar Reddy by 10,919 votes.
This victory helped him in consolidating his position in the party and the leadership appointed him the state unit president in 2021, giving him the big responsibility of reviving the party’s fortunes.
An aggressive, albeit controversial, Revanth Reddy has succeeded in lifting the party’s morale. A bitter critic of KCR and his family, he is credited with the momentum the party has seen in recent months, especially after the Congress win in Karnataka.
Now, Kodangal is all set to witness a repeat of the 2018 battle. BRS has once again fielded Narender Reddy. Though the BJP has fielded Bantu Ramesh Kumar, it will be a direct fight between Revanth Reddy and Narender Reddy.
During the campaign, Revanth Reddy is highlighting the failures of the BRS in fulfilling the promises it had made in 2018 for the constituency’s development.
Indirectly pitching himself as the CM face, the TPCC chief is trying to explain to voters how Kodangal can benefit if the Congress comes to power in the state.
Addressing a rally before filing his nomination, he mentioned the role played by the Karnataka PCC chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in bringing the Congress party into power in Karnataka. “If the Kodangal people help the Congress win, Kodangal’s name would be popular at the Delhi level,” he said.
He also told the people that the Congress should win in Kodangal with a larger majority than what was secured by Shivakumar in Karnataka.
“If the Congress party comes to power, this will bring recognition to Kodangal in the entire country,” he added.
“In the last elections the BRS had promised to establish cement factories, junior colleges, degree colleges, engineering colleges but no development activity has taken place,” he said.
Revanth Reddy, who has repeatedly challenged KCR to contest from Kodangal, is seen by the BRS and KCR’s family as the main threat.
Ever since Revanth Reddy was made the TPCC chief, a bitter war of words has been going on between them. Both sides use harsh words to attack each other.
BRS working president and KCR’s son KT Rama Rao has vowed to defeat Revanth Reddy in Kodangal. Taking the fight to Revanth Reddy’s home-turf, KTR conducted a huge road show.
He said Revanth Reddy will soon land in jail in the cash-for-vote case and asked people to decide whether they want a leader who will be with them or one who will go to prison.
“Do you want current (power) or Congress, Rythu Bandhu or Rabandhu (vultures), schemes or scams, an MLA with people or MLA in jail,” asked the BRS leader.
After a huge response to the November 9 roadshow in Kodangal, KTR declared that BRS is once again winning the seat.
Interestingly, Revanth Reddy began his political career with TRS (now BRS) in 2003. He quit the party two years later after he was not given a chance to contest.
Contesting as an independent, he became a Zilla Parishad Territorial Committee (ZPTC) member in 2006. He got elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council in 2008 as an independent candidate. The same year he joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Revanth Reddy was first elected from Kodangal in 2009 on a TDP ticket, defeating his nearest rival Gurunath Reddy of the Congress party by about 7,000 votes. He became close to TDP president and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
He retained the seat in 2014, defeating Gurunath Reddy, who had contested as a TRS candidate, by over 14,000 votes. However, the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh had weakened the TDP in Telangana.
In October 2017, he resigned as 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.
