Hyderabad: When TPCC president and Malkajgiri Lok Sabha MP A Revanth Reddy joined the Congress five years ago, the party was jubilant. He was one of then big names that had moved to the Congress, instead of the ruling BRS (then TRS) from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Cut to four years, later and all the hope Revanth brought with him is now gone. The Congress in fact is at a crossroads, undergoing another rebelion from its old guard.
More importantly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Telangana is now eying top leaders from the Congress, to draw them to its fold. While nobody has openly announced any such move now, BJP leaders in Hyderabad said that they are in unofficial talks with some big names. The last one to defect from the Congress was ex-MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, whose defection necessitated the Munugode by-poll.
Rajagopal Reddy as the BJP candidate lost to the ruling Bharata Rashtra Samithi (BRS) candidate in the by-poll that concluded last month. “There are three to four big leaders who are willing to shift right now. The Telangana BJP is looking for those who have confidence in the Modi government. If they are ready (to defect or shift loyalties) they will tell us,” said a BJP leader who did not want to be named.
The first name that always comes up in talks about the Congress’s future is Rajagopal Reddy’s brother and Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy. He had not campaigned for the Congress against his brother in the recent Munugode by-election, and naturally for him, going to the BJP also makes sense now. The TRS candidate managed to win the by-poll with a margin of over 10,000 in the high stakes battle at Munugode.
“The dice has been rolled and none of the old leaders from the old guard have any bad image. There will be at least a few people (who will defect) and some are in touch. This episode will bring the entire Congress issue to a closure,” remarked another BJP leader who did not want to be quoted. He added that it will be clear in a few weeks, as those who want to quit will indicate it.
About fortnight ago ex-MLA and Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy quit and joined the BJP. His father Marri Chenna Reddy was a former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh (joint state).
The crisis in Congress
The main issue in the Telangana Congress unit is the fissures between the old guard, which has not accepted Revanth Reddy’s leadership. The former comprises leaders like MLA Jagga Reddy, ex-TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and others. Last week the group opposed to Revanth Reddy called their rebellion a move to ‘save Congress’.
A major bone of contention was that many of the party posts went to leaders who had joined the Congress from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Uttam Kumar Reddy, who is also the Nalgonda Lok Sabha MP, stated that 54 of the 108 TPCC positions announced went to ex-TDP members.
Santa Reddy MLA Jagga Reddy also questioned how they could be called ‘coverts’ (by others) when they were attempting to salvage the party. The PCC and AICC in-charges did not denounce the social media onslaught directed at them. “Those who have switched four parties cannot instruct us how to operate in the party,” said Congress leader Damodar Rajanarsimha, criticising Revanth Reddy.
In response, 13 leaders who had defected to the Congress from the TDP announced their resignations from party posts. Narender Reddy, Seethakka, Vijay Rama Rao, Erra Shekhar, and others said they would send their resignations to Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Working President.
“This is not going to affect the party. Those who want to work and stay will do that. Just like the BJP, we also have an ideology,” said a Congress leader from Telangana if the crisis will be resolved. Meanwhile, the AICC leadership from Delhi has begun speaking to both sides to resolve the matter.
Revanth unfazed?
Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy announced that he will begin his Padayatra in preparation for the 2023 Telangana elections. His silence on the matter is pretty much an indication that the old guard will mostly not have its way. It may be noted that Revanth was chosen for the job by Congress MP and former AICC president Rahul Gandhi himself.
In the past too, Jagga Reddy has attacked Revanth over various issues. One of the reasons behind Rajagopal Reddy quitting also is that both he and his brother had been contending for the TPCC post in Telangana. While Revanth’s elevation to the top post was celebrated as a boost to the Congress, so far he is yet to deliver.
“What we are seeing is the same thing happening with the high command, which is currently weak. In spite of so much happening Delhi is quiet,” said a political analyst. One of the BJP leaders quoted above in the report also noted that Congress leaders coming for debates on TV channels are relatively younger these days. “This was after Revanth became TPCC chief. So clearly younger people are getting a chance. However, here, for the public Congress means its old leaders. In any case, we are in touch with leaders and have to see how this unfolds,” he added.
The Congress in Telangana since the 2014 state elections has been seeing a downward slide in its performance. It won 21 MLA seats in 2014, while the ruling (then) TRS (now Bharata Rashtra Samithi or BRS) won with 63 seats. The TDP and BJP as part of an alliance won 15 and five seats each, while the AIMIM as always retained its seven Assembly constituencies in Hyderabad.
In the 2018 state polls, the BRS (then TRS) won a staggering 88 seats. The Congress, which formed a grand alliance with the TDP and other parties, could win only 19 seats, while the TDP won just two. The BJP on its own won only one seat – Goshamahal (held by urgently suspended MLA Raja Singh). Since then the BJP however managed to win the Dubbaka and Huzurabad bypolls since then. The BRS has won the Munugode bypoll and the Nagarjunasagar by-election prior to that.
