Rajgopal Reddy’s Ministerial Demand Puts Congress in a Tight Spot

Is the Congress party their strength? Or are they the strength of the Congress party? In Nalgonda district, the Komatireddy brothers have been in politics for a long time. They have held sway as key leaders in the Congress party. But the commotion they created before the elections was no small matter. Now, Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy — who, after being given an assurance, is questioning why he was not given a ministerial post — seems to be trying every day to push the Congress party into trouble. Before the elections, Rajgopal Reddy, who was still a Congress MLA, openly declared that only the BJP could defeat the then very strong BRS in Telangana. Along with making politically damaging statements against the Congress, he resigned from the party, joined the BJP, and triggered the Munugode by-election. Ironically, despite saying that only the BJP could defeat BRS in Telangana, Rajgopal Reddy lost that very by-election to the BRS.

As a result, he also lost his MLA seat at that time. If Rajgopal Reddy’s claim was true — that in Munugode he had personal strength independent of Congress — then no matter what others did, he should have won, right? But everyone knows what happened. Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who was deeply dissatisfied with then PCC president Revanth Reddy, also said at the time that his younger brother would win the by-election. It was widely speculated then that if Rajgopal Reddy had won the by-election, Venkat Reddy too would have joined the BJP before the general elections. But with the defeat in Munugode, the situation reversed. Whatever the reasons, the Congress party later invited Rajgopal Reddy — who had left them — back into the party, and he won from Munugode again on a Congress ticket. Even Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka recently confirmed that it was true a ministerial post had been promised to him.

However, his elder brother Komatireddy Venkat Reddy is already a minister in the Telangana cabinet. Arguing that both of them are capable, Rajgopal Reddy has in recent days been trying to put both the party and the government in a tight spot, questioning why he too was not given a ministerial position. Some leaders are asking: “Don’t you know how many times these brothers have put the Congress party in trouble before the elections?” They also say that Rajgopal Reddy is now speaking as though Congress came to power solely because of him. Observing the past developments, many leaders feel that it was the strength of the Congress that benefited them, not that they brought any advantage to the Congress. Yet, despite Rajgopal Reddy repeatedly making statements in recent days that damage the party and the government, Congress seems to be in a position where it can do nothing, according to party leaders.