The Congress had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi during the assembly elections last December. But it’s attempt at revival seems to have paid off to an extent as the party was able to win three Lok Sabha seats in the state.
While the state party president Uttam Kumar Reddy held on to the party bastion at Nalgonda, Revanth Reddy won the election from Malkajgiri that has parts of Secunderabad and Medchal-Malkajgiri district. He had lost from his home bastion in Kodangal in Vikarabad district in the assembly polls. The assembly election results had come as a rude shock to the Congress leader, who had been confident of retaining his seat.
Though the Congress had no allies in Telangana, Revanth surprised the voters by comfortably winning the Malkajgiri seat with a margin of 10,919 votes.
Was it his firebrand image that helped the leader who had defected from the TDP to the Congress in 2017? Or was it the lack of a strong TRS candidate that made the elections an easy game for the Congress leader? Political analysts say there is more to than what meets the eye that ensured the victory for Revanth.
A devastating loss
Revanth, belovedly called ‘Tiger Anna’ by his party cadres, has been a staunch critic of the ruling TRS. Revanth has time and again slammed the TRS government, especially Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his family. From bringing police to his doorstep just two days before elections and arresting him in the wee hours of the morning, TRS had made clear that Revanth was their arch rival.
“Revanth is an outspoken political leader. And for the very same reason KCR was adamant that Revanth shouldn’t be in the assembly. The party did everything in its capacity to ensure that Revanth didn’t stand a chance of winning a seat in the assembly elections. Kodangal is an under-developed constituency and influencing voters here was a cake walk for TRS. TRS party made sure he lost in his own home ground,” a source close to the government told TNM.
“Since Revanth was a TDP defector, rumours were also rife that he was in cahoots with the TDP which obviously didn’t go well with Telangana voters and that too worked against Revanth’s victory,” he adds.
Though Revanth’s failure in the assembly elections had come as a shock to the Congress and its supporters, the party believed it hadn’t dented Revanth’s public image. Congress announced Revanth as candidate from Malkajgiri even when the party was losing its cadres from the constituency. Congress leaders themselves appeared on media casting their apprehensions over Revanth’s winnability. Formidable opponents, and internal rift within the party were reasons they cited.
The Malkajgiri factor
However, contrary to his colleagues’ expectations, Revanth defeated TRS candidate Marri Rajashekhar Reddy with a comfortable margin.
“Congress wanted to a field a leader with good public rapport in Malkajgiri. The party, which had not fielded any candidate in the constituency during the assembly elections because of its alliance with the TDP, wasn’t hopeful of winning. And Revanth was their only option,” says Telakapalli Ravi, a political analyst.
Unlike Kodangal, Malkajgiri is an urban constituency and Congress banked on the sentiments of the educated population here.
“Revanth had adopted new campaigning strategies and was successful in connecting with the youth. On the other hand, though TRS’s Marri Rajasekhar Reddy had the political clout of being the son-in-law of Ch Malla Reddy (labour minister), he was a new entrant into politics. But he wasn’t a popular face. Also, Malkajgiri has a huge Seemandhra settlement which may not have wanted the TRS to come into power at the centre,” Ravi adds.
But analysts also opine that the win shouldn’t be considered as an isolated phenomenon. Congress and BJP’s emergence is partially due to the TRS’ over-confidence at winning more than 15-16 seats, say Palwai Raghavendra Reddy, another political analyst.
“The voters know that the TRS has almost always supported the BJP in its decisions at the centre. The anti-Modi sentiments in the state have worked in favour of Congress this time with the voters not left with many alternatives,” he adds.