TPCC or TDPCC? Revanth Reddy runs Telangana Congress as an extension of TDP

HYDERABAD: Buoyed by Karnataka election results, Telangana Congress party unit is trying to keep its activity revved up and is posturing itself as the challenger to mighty KCR.

However, the party with all its problems and pitfalls, is grappling to catapult into the pole position with no clear direction.

Dogged by the stigma of turning out to be an extension counter of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) doesn’t seem to eschew that “shadow TDP” image. In fact, it has been renewing this image what with its attempt to implement the roadmap surreptitiously suggested by the TDP.

TPCC president A Revanth Reddy’s longest stint in politics was with the TDP. So, he naturally uses that play book to build the organisation in his bid to buck up to fight the upcoming elections.

The present day TPCC is nothing but a slightly transformed version of “Grand Alliance” that miserably failed to challenge the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the 2018 elections.

A newspaper and its TV channel that openly owes its allegiance to the TDP is trying to push its benefactor’s agenda in Telangana through the TPCC.

The suggestion that the swashbuckling Karnataka Pradesh Congress chief and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar would provide the necessary guidance to the TPCC raised many an eyebrow in Telangana. The idea of roping in — or, at least, set the proxy agenda in this direction — has been discussed threadbare within the TDP, according to people with knowledge of this. In fact, the TDP circles elicited popular (loyalists and supporters of the party) opinion. The same has been put out by the newspaper in the form of a news break.

The newspaper “prescribed” that Shivakumar should be the incharge for Telangana polls and also detailed the way forward on the possible “key takeaways” from him. However, this was promptly countered by Telangana PCC incharge Manikrao Thakre who dismissed it as a speculation.

Revanth Reddy maintains his confidantes — obliquely, those who owe their allegiance to Chandrababu Naidu. For instance, MLA Seethakka, a former naxalite and present Congress MLA from Mulugu Assembly seat, is a staunch loyalist of Naidu. She straightaway joined the TDP from the naxalite movement and was elected to the Assembly on its ticket in 2009 Assembly polls in undivided Andhra Pradesh. Photographs of Seethakka touched the feet of Naidu out of respect when the latter had called on her mother who was put on a ventilator at AIG Hospital exactly two years ago. These visuals are available all over the web.

Considering her old affinity, she had organised a 2,000-car rally to impress upon the Congress high command to consider Revanth Reddy’s candidacy for the presidency of TPCC. Who would have sponsored this rally is anybody’s guess.

Very recently, Revanth Reddy during his padayatra in Palakurthi Assembly constituency, had lauded Chandrababu Naidu and blamed Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao for debilitating the TDP in the constituency. He spent over two minutes in his speech to pay rich encomiums to his former “official” boss.

At the drop of a hat, Revanth Reddy showers praises on Naidu. The Congress unwittingly is working tirelessly to accomplish the desire of the TDP to elevate its alumnus Revanth Reddy.

It may be recalled that the poor show by the Congress in 2018 elections was not only because of KCR’s extraordinary political acumen or pro-TRS popular sentiment, but even because of its electoral alliance with the TDP which is largely seen as Andhra party.

The Congress is now stigmatised that it’s an extension counter of the TDP in Telangana.

Most TPCC activities were also allegedly enjoying the “blessings” of the TDP. In fact, Revanth’s detractors had complained to the AICC leadership that he had been running the party as TDPCC instead of TPCC.

As the elections in Telangana are round the corner, the Congress has to put up with the leader who was exposed in television channels offering wads of currency to lure an Anglo-Indian MLC into the TDP during legislative council elections in Telangana.

Though he is able to rope in some nondescript archetypal nowheremen into the Congress, claiming that they were crossing over from the BRS and the BJP, nobody has verified the veracity of such claims or the antecedents of those embracing the Congress.

The biggest challenge for the Congress is to fight a mighty BRS on one hand and stay in the game of thrones with an imported leader at the helm on the other.