Is Revanth Reddy giving a walkover to Majlis in Old City to hide his RSS past?

HYDERABAD: Minutes after the announcement of the first list of candidates for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections, the Congress headquarters, Gandhi Bhavan, was rocked by protests.

Ticket aspirants and their supporters, who were unhappy with the denial of tickets to their leaders, held protests and accused the state president of the party, A. Revanth Reddy, of implementing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) agenda by suppressing the Muslim leadership.

They also alleged that by fielding non-Muslim candidates from constituencies with more than 70 percent Muslim voters, Revanth Reddy was trying to give a walkover to the All India Maljlis E Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the next Assembly elections.

These allegations are quite serious, and they have raised questions about Revanth Reddy's agenda. It is important to note that Revanth Reddy began his political career with the RSS. Although he has since clarified that he no longer follows the RSS ideology, his appointment as the state president of the Congress has been met with skepticism by many, especially among the Muslim community.

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother, MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, have been targeting Revanth Reddy in their speeches for several days. They have accused Reddy of beginning his political career with the RSS, a Hindu nationalist organization, and of still following its ideology. Reddy has clarified that he is no longer associated with the RSS, but he has not received support from within the Congress party on this issue. According to sources, Muslim leaders from the Old City of Hyderabad did not defend Reddy when the Owaisi brothers attacked him for his RSS background. This reportedly angered Reddy, and he convinced the Congress High Command to field non-Muslim candidates from the Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura, and Bahadurpura constituencies.

Another candidate, Shaik Akbar from the Malakpet constituency, which has been held by the Majlis since 2009, is reportedly facing huge opposition from local Congress leaders. They allege that Akbar was never active in the party and that he secured the ticket by paying a large sum of money to a close associate of the TPCC chief. This is said to have been done to prevent a split in Muslim votes and ensure the MIM's victory in Malakpet. A strong Muslim candidate from Malakpet could have hurt the MIM's chances of winning.

As a result, the Congress seems to be focused only on the Nampally and Charminar seats, where it hopes to have a direct fight with the MIM. In Nampally, Feroz Khan has been retained as the candidate. The Congress is also trying to convince senior leader Ali Masqati to contest the Charminar seat, but he is reportedly not inclined to do so.

In Karwan, the Congress has nominated Osman Bin Hajiri, but he is not considered a strong candidate or a match for the sitting MIM MLA, Kausar Mohiuddin.

Within the Congress party, Revanth Reddy is facing severe criticism, with many leaders believing that he is targeting the Muslim leadership. Other analysts say that Reddy is being cautious in his handling of the MIM, keeping a window open so that the Congress can seek the MIM's help if Telangana gets a hung assembly. However, with the BRS in a comfortable position, this is unlikely to happen.

The first list of candidates has triggered a debate within the Congress party over whether the High Command did the right thing by appointing a leader with an RSS background as its state president. Commenting on the same issue, BRS Working President and Minister K Tarakrama Rao predicted that after the Assembly elections, Revanth Reddy would take a group of Congress MLAs and join the BJP.

As the Assembly elections approach, these political undercurrents promise a riveting electoral battle.