TPCC surveys cause rift between Revanth Reddy, Uttam Kumar Reddy

HYDERABAD: Has Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Revanth Reddy just turned one more senior Congress leader from the State and his predecessor Uttam Kumar Reddy into his bitter adversary?

If grapevine is to be believed, a reported attempt by Revanth Reddy to get surveys done on the prospects of other persons as the Congress candidates in Uttam Kumar Reddy’s bastion has caused a serious rift between the two leaders.

According to these speculations, Revanth has been carrying out surveys and seeking public opinion about Congress leaders in Huzurnagar and Kodad where Nalgonda MP Uttam Kumar and his wife Padmavathi have served as MLAs in the past.

Unnerved by these rumours, Uttam Kumar Reddy reportedly lodged a complaint with Congress Telangana affairs in-charge Manik Rao Thakare and expressed his displeasure, the reports claim.

What is a matter of concern for the Congress are the circumstances under which Uttam's cousin Padi Kaushik Reddy joined the TRS when he was the TPCC chief. Uttam had always said that Kaushik was his political successor. After joining the ruling party, Kaushik became an MLC.

To counter these rumours, AICC incharge for Telangana Manikrao Thakare met Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday.

Uttam Kumar is also understood to have informed Thakare that he believed that a few within the Telangana Congress were responsible for floating rumours to damage his reputation.

Sources in the Congress shared that Uttam Kumar, despite being an MP of Nalgonda, does not want to let go of his bastion Huzurnagar and wants to contest as the MLA in the coming Assembly elections. He also wants the Congress to offer a ticket for his wife from Kodad.

Meanwhile, it is also reported that Uttam Kumar Reddy was unhappy with his cadre who went the extra mile to help Revanth Reddy pull crowds for his recent interactions. While sharing his grouse with Manikrao Thakare, Uttam Kumar Reddy is understood to have said that he would remain loyal to the Congress, if his demands were fulfilled.

The troubles between the two leaders date back to the time since Uttam Kumar Reddy was replaced with Revanth Reddy as the TPCC chief. The rift reached a flashpoint and came to the fore when Uttam Kumar Reddy reportedly lodged a complaint with the cyber crime police of Hyderabad several months ago. In the complaint, he alleged that canards were being spread against him with the intention of tarnishing his public image. Based on Uttam Kumar Reddy’s complaint, the Cyberabad police conducted a raid on the Telangana Congress ‘war room’ during which they seized hard disks of a few computers among other material.

Later, the former TPCC president once again approached the cyber crime sleuths about two months back with a similar complaint alleging false and adverse social media propaganda against him. In a consequent search on the TPCC premises, the police traced the alleged malicious activity to a social media team allegedly working for and at the behest of the current TPCC chief Revanth Reddy. It was found out then that the team was working from a location in Banjara Hills. A few hard disks were seized on this occasion also.