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Telangana CM-designate A Revanth Reddy at Parliament House complex during the Winter session, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. (PTI Photo/Kamal Singh)
It is to draw parallels between Telangana PCC chief and soon-to-be Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy, and firebrand BJP leader, and the party’s biggest hope in the state till recently, Bandi Sanjay Kumar.
Both are leaders who shot to limelight over the year preceding the elections, thanks to their aggressive charge against the ruling and all-pervasive Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the state. Both are young by political standards, being 56 and 52 respectively. And both are eloquent speakers.
But here is where the comparison ends. If Sanjay Kumar made his mark with his Hindutva rhetoric, and put the BJP in fighting mode in a state where it had no presence, till he was abruptly removed as party state chief, Revanth is an orator largely in the mould of old politicians, mixing eloquence with emotions and direct attacks to connect to the audience.
When the Election Commission (EC) announced the polling schedule for Telangana in October, there was consensus about the K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS’s) firm hold on the state.
The party had 103 of the 119 sitting MLAs, a range of direct-cash-benefit-transfer schemes that catered to almost all communities, a vision for expanding capital Hyderabad’s tech potential, and one of the foremost faces of the Telangana statehood movement as the CM. The party too seemed confident to tide over anti-incumbency — it retained most of its sitting MLAs and ministers — and there was seemingly no formidable Opposition.
But a dramatic turnaround ensued and now, the mighty BRS has been reduced to 39 seats.
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