Regional parties are generally run according to the wishes of their supreme leader, whether it is the party organization or the government. In national parties, however, things usually do not function in the same manner. But in Telangana, discussions are gaining momentum within the Congress that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy appears to be following the same model adopted by former Chief Minister and BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR). Many Congress leaders believe that Revanth Reddy is running both the Telangana government and the Congress party in the state in the style of a regional party. On Tuesday, the Telangana government released a newspaper advertisement announcing the release of ₹9,000 crore to farmers under the Rythu Bharosa scheme. The advertisement carried only the photographs of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
However, there was no place in the advertisement for the photograph of senior minister and Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao. This is not an isolated instance involving Tummala Nageswara Rao alone. Even in several previous government advertisements, ministers heading the respective departments were completely ignored, with only the photographs of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka being featured. During the previous BRS government, KCR followed a similar model. Now, Revanth Reddy is also facing criticism for adopting the same regional party-style approach by sidelining ministers and projecting the government as being centered entirely around himself.
Congress leaders say that this trend is not limited to government advertisements. They claim that, much like during the BRS regime, decisions in several key departments are now being made primarily through Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. A senior Congress leader said there may be one or two exceptions, but the same pattern exists across several important departments. Meanwhile, there are also widespread allegations that private teams are playing a role in handling several key government departments.
According to many Congress leaders, the weak position of the Congress high command has also worked in Revanth Reddy’s favour in Telangana. They believe this has enabled him to function with a level of assertiveness that no previous Congress Chief Minister in the state had displayed. Unlike any previous Congress Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy has also maintained close relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While this is publicly projected as being in the interest of the state and for securing central funds, political circles have long been discussing that the actual agenda may be different.