Hyderabad: The Congress high command is likely to change its Telangana unit’s president, as current incumbent Revanth Reddy is also the state’s chief minister, and will hence have to forego the party position. As per convention in the grand old party, the state chiefs usually resign from their position once they get chosen to hold chief ministerial position. This time around, the position is likely to go to a leader from the Backward Classes (BC) community, as the two previous state heads were Reddy’s.
According to a senior Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) leader in Hyderabad, TPCC general secretary Mahesh Kumar Goud is amongst one of the front runners for the position. Another senior leader whose name is in the hat is ex-Nizamabad MP Madhu Yakshi Goud. Revanth Reddy was sworn-in as the chief minister on December 7 after the Congress pulled-off a victory in the 2023 November 30 elections by defeating the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Mahesh Kumar Goud was supposed to contest from the Nizamabad (urban) seat in the 2023 state polls, but the seat was eventually was given to ex-Congress minister Shabbir Ali, who eventually lost the seat. “It has not been announced yet but the TPCC president will be replaced as Revanth Reddy is now the chief minister so he can’t hold both positions as he is also running the government. Mahesh Kumar’s name is in the front,” the TPCC leader added.
Previous Congress chiefs
After Telangana was formed in 2014, the Congress first appointed Huzurnagar MLA and senior leader N Uttam Reddy as the state party chief, who held on to the position until 2021. Under Uttam, the Congress performed very poorly, as it lost two state elections in 2014 and 2018, and even lost important by-polls during that time to the then ruling BRS. However, the grand old party managed to win three Lok Sabha seats out of 17 in Telangana during the 2024 polls.
Revanth Reddy, who was appointed as the TPCC working president in 2018 initially after joining the Congress, was finally made the TPCC president in spite of opposition from within the party. His critics have however been silenced as he managed to finally pull-off a victory for the Congress. It is also believed that he has support from Congress high command, which is why he as able to work the way he does.
The Congress in Telangana is split internally between different groups, as in any other state unit. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Revanth Reddy are known to not get along. However, things now seem to have smothered out as the Congress’s victory in the state has allowed the party to divide power and positions. While it is to be seen who gets appointed as the next party chief, the position will certainly go to a BC leader, as the community has been demanding a higher share of political power in the state.
2023 Telangana election results
In the 2023 November 30 state elections, the Congress won the polls by winning 64 seats, while the BRS, run by ex-chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, could win just 30 constituencies. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged eight seats, while the All Indian Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) retained its seven seats, six of which are in the Old City areas of Hyderabad. The Communist Party of India, with support from the Congress, managed to win the Kothagudem seats.
