In another four months, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy will complete three years in office. Until a few days ago, it could be said that despite several administrative challenges in Telangana, he had not faced any major political problems. But the situation now appears to be changing. Revanth Reddy, who took on BRS chief KCR, who ruled Telangana for nearly a decade, in the last elections, is now facing a strange situation. Although the anti-incumbency sentiment against the BRS and KCR contributed to the Congress victory in 2023 to some extent, no one can deny the role played by Revanth Reddy, who was the TPCC president at the time. Revanth Reddy accomplished what none of the leaders who called themselves staunch Congressmen could do. He brought the Congress to power in Telangana. Everything went smoothly until then.
However, Revanth Reddy, who took on KCR in the last elections, is now facing intense criticism from Sushmitha Patel, the daughter of Minister Konda Surekha, who herself is not even an MLA. Leaving aside for a moment what action will be taken against Konda Surekha in this matter, the Congress leadership has so far not taken any action against Sushmitha Patel, who has made serious allegations against Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and his family members. This has now raised a question in everyone’s mind: Will the high command stand by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in the days ahead or not? It is known that serious allegations were made that after becoming Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy had become arrogant and that his family members were involved in land grabbing. Since then, political heat has increased in Telangana, particularly within the Congress. For some time now, MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, who is unhappy over not being given a ministerial position, has also intensified his criticism of Revanth Reddy.
The key question now is whether all these issues will be settled, whether the high command has sorted everything out, and whether Revanth Reddy will receive the support of the Congress leadership in Delhi. If that does not happen, it can be said that Revanth Reddy will have no option but to walk a difficult path for the remaining two years. Since coming to power, Revanth Reddy has faced criticism from leaders within his own party that he has been following a one-man style of functioning on several issues. Many leaders of the party say that he has been running the Congress government as though he were running a regional party government. Until recently, government advertisements featured only the photographs of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, as though the government consisted only of the two of them. However, for the past few days, photographs of ministers from the respective departments have also started appearing in government advertisements.
Another key issue is that serious corruption allegations are being levelled against only two or three ministers, apart from Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, in the entire Congress government. Minister Konda Surekha saying that the comments made by her daughter against CM Revanth Reddy and his family members are personal and that she has nothing to do with them gives rise to the opinion that she appears to have decided to continue the controversy. With only two years left until the elections, it remains to be seen how many more twists and turns the developments within the Telangana Congress will take in the coming days.