Revanth Reddy: From local public representative in village to Telangana Chief Minister

Hyderabad: From a local public representative in a remote village to the post of the Chief Minister, the political journey of Anumula Revanth Reddy has been exciting. Set to take over as the second Chief Minister of Telangana on December 7, the 55-year-old is a self-made politician who battled all odds to prove his mettle. Making a beginning on a winning note as an independent candidate in local body elections, the ambitious leader has come up in politics with hard work to reach to the top post in just 17 years.

Political analysts say this is an extraordinary achievement for a leader who has no administrative experience and had never been in the ruling party. Born in an agricultural family in Kongareddypalli in the present Nagarkurnool district on November 8, 1968, he studied at a polytechnic in Wanaparthy. He subsequently studied Bachelor of Arts from AV College in Hyderabad.

Son of Narasimha Reddy and Ramachandramma, Revanth Reddy is fourth among seven siblings. A first-generation politician from the family, he started his political career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in his student days. He joined Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now BRS) in 2002 but quit the party after a couple of years as he did not get the recognition in the party.

In 2006, he contested as an independent for the post of member of Zilla Parishad Territorial Committee (ZTPC) in Midjil mandal in Kalwakurthy constituency though his native village was in Vagoor mandal in Achampet constituency. He was successful in his very first attempt in electoral politics but his aim was higher. The very next year, Revanth Reddy contested elections for the Legislative Council of then united Andhra Pradesh from local bodies’ constituency in Mahabubnagar district and defeated the candidate of ruling Congress by 100 votes.

This victory catapulted him to state-level politics and in 2008, he joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which was in opposition. In 2009, he entered the fray in Assembly elections and was elected from Kodangal, defeating senior Congress leader Gurunadh Reddy by 6,989 votes. The young, dynamic and spirited leader attracted the people’s attention with his active participation in Assembly debates.

“He used to come prepared to the Assembly with all statistics and present his arguments in an effective manner,” said political analyst Palwai Raghavendra Reddy. Considered close to TDP President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Revanth Reddy became popular among people, especially youth, with his fiery speeches.

When the Telangana agitation was at its peak, he remained with the TDP. He was elected to the first Telangana Assembly from Kodangal in 2014. He retained the seat with a bigger margin of 14,614 votes against the TRS candidate.

As TDP’s Telangana unit Working President and TDP floor leader in Assembly, he took on the ruling TRS both in the Assembly and outside. He has been a bitter critic of K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his family.

In 2015, Revanth Reddy was caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) while allegedly trying to buy the vote of nominated MLA Stephenson in favour of the TDP candidate Vem Narender Reddy in the MLC elections. He was sent to jail in the bribery case, seen as the biggest black mark of his political career. He was granted a 12-hour bail to attend the wedding of his only daughter Nymisha.

After his release on bail, Revanth Reddy maintained a low profile for a couple of years. In October 2017, he resigned as MLA and also quit the TDP. He joined the Congress and vowed to fight for “liberation of Telangana from KCR’s autocratic rule”.

He built a strong network within the Congress and soon moved closer to the top leadership. He was rewarded with the post of the Working President of the TPCC. In the 2018 elections, he projected himself as the Chief Ministerial candidate.

Not only the Congress fail to capture power but Revanth Reddy too suffered defeat from Kodangal. The party fielded him in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and he bounced back by winning Malkajgiri seat. In 2021, the Congress leadership picked Revanth Reddy to lead the party in Telangana.

Some seniors were shocked as he was seen as an outsider in the party. Known for aggressive approach and mass appeal, he was seen as someone who can reverse the fortunes of the grand old party in its former stronghold. Despite the party’s humiliating defeats in by-elections and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, Revanth Reddy refused to give up.

The victory of the Congress in Karnataka infused new energy in the party. Within six months, the party became the main challenge to the BRS, pushing back the BJP to third place. Leading the party from the front, he campaigned not just in his home constituency Kodangal and Kamareddy, where he challenged KCR, but addressed 55 election rallies across the state.

He also played an active role in reaching out to disgruntled leaders of the BRS and the BJP to invite them to join the Congress. (IANS).