Why Revanth Reddy is being nicknamed 'Eknath Shinde of Telangana'

Will Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy do an Eknath Shinde? His recent speech when he shared the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi has triggered speculation, with his rivals drawing parallels with Shinde, the Shiv Sena rebel who became Maharashtra Chief Minister in 2022.

Both the Bharata Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appear to be predicting the fall of the Congress government in the state after the Lok Sabha elections.

BRS charge

Addressing a party meeting in Hyderabad, BRS working president KT Rama Rao said Revanth would move to close to the BJP after the Lok Sabha battle, as did Shinde in Maharashtra and Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam. It may be noted that Himanta had quit the Congress to join the BJP in 2015.

Much to the embarrassment of Congress circles, Dr K Laskhaman, the BJP’s National OBC Morcha president and Rajya Sabha member, endorsed KTR’s statement. A much-awaited double-engine government in Telangana would be formed after the Lok Sabha elections, he said.

The campaign unleashed by major opposition parties has led to an intense debate in political circles in the state.

A tall leader

The fact is both the BRS and BJP are forced to confront a truth – Revanth Reddy’s emergence as a mass leader in the state Congress, about half a century after M Chenna Reddy, former chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh.

This talk of toppling his government has forced the Chief Minister to warn his critics daily.

Addressing a public meeting in Medchal on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Revanth said people would "demolish not only the walls of the farmhouse of ex-chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) but also its bricks" if he attempted to harm his government.

In another meeting in Bairamalguda, he said people would socially boycott the forces attempting to lure Congress MLAs with power and pelf.

Praise for Modi

The present debate on ‘Telangana Shinde’ is triggered by Revanth's glowing praise of Modi and the Gujarat Model at a time when the official Congress line is that both the PM and his state are far from inspiring.

Revanth Reddy, who joined Congress from the Telugu Desam Party in 2017, was appointed the PCC president in 2021. A man with a gift of gab and an unusual following among the youth, he has devised a two-pronged approach to take on the mighty BRS.

His approach, which entails unifying the Reddy caste and a campaign against the corruption of KCR’s family, made him a real counterforce to KCR, the protagonist of the Telangana movement.

BRS's grouse

Ever since Shinde toppled the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra in 2022, the BRS had been facing some taunts. Both the Congress and the BJP used to call Tanneru Harish Rao, KCR's nephew and state finance minister, a "possible Shinde of BRS".

The debate ended abruptly after the defeat of BRS in the Assembly elections.

Now, the BRS is using the same phrase on Revanth Reddy. KT Ram Rao called Revanth "a man with ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) blood".

Citing Revanth's talks with Gautham Adani at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meet in Davos for a huge investment in Telangana, KTR said that while Rahul Gandhi speaks against Adani and Modi, Revanth not only praises Modi but also strikes business deals with Adani.

But the Congress dismissed this as a display of contempt by the BRS and BJP for Revanth Reddy’s leadership.

Defending Revanth

“It is a smart move by Revanth to get the pending projects cleared and more funds released by the Centre for the financially bankrupt state. But BRS doesn’t want this to happen as it further exposes the party’s misgovernance,” Dr Mallu Ravi, a senior Congress leader and a close aide of Revanth Reddy, told The Federal.

Despite this justification, the Chief Minister’s stand caused concern among many party leaders. “Revanth Reddy should have been extra cautious that his strategy should not seem to be working at cross purposes with the party's core ideology,” said a senior Congress leader on the condition of anonymity.

But Shinde’s reference is seen as a move to plant seeds of suspicion on Revanth Reddy’s loyalty in the minds of the Congress leadership.

According to commentator Prof K Nageswar, the campaign would only help strengthen Revanth Reddy’s leadership.

“The motive behind the campaign appears to be making the Congress leadership suspect Revanth Reddy's actions and weaken him. The Congress knows it has finally found a leader in Revanth Reddy who proved successful. So, the entire party is expected to rally behind him. It is farfetched to call Revanth Reddy as Shinde because he is already a chief minister. Where is the need to turn into a Shinde to become the CM?” Nageswar said.