War in Telangana Congress: Has Revanth Reddy Run Out of High Command's Favour?

Revanth Reddy, who rose in Telangana Congress, has not convinced the High Command of his managerial skills.

In Telangana Congress a rebellion, triggered by the older rungs of the party, has been brewing.

While the Congress High Command sent in veteran leader Digvijay Singh on 21 December, to solve the stalemate between the new and old rungs of the grand old party, The Quint has learnt not all is well between Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President A Revanth Reddy and the party's national leadership.

A Revanth Reddy, who was earlier with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had joined the Congress in 2017 and was promoted to the role of TPCC president in 2021.

What led to the recent unravelling of the Telangana Congress? On 19 December, 12 members of the TPCC resigned from their posts in the party after older rung leaders, including former TPCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy, accused that 50 percent of the TPCC leaders were earlier with the TDP. That is, the older leaders of the party claimed that their loyalty to the Congress was not considered as leaders who joined the grand old party after 2014 were given prominence in the organisational structure.

Was Congress High Command Warned of Rebellion?

Congress sources told The Quint that the older rung leaders of the party were not happy with the functioning of Congress after Revanth Reddy took over. Recently, a prominent Congress leader Komati Reddy Raj Gopal Reddy had joined the BJP and his brother Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy had publicly rebelled against the TPCC president.

On several occasions, including the visit of the national Opposition's presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha, the older rungs of the party had strayed from the TPCC's stand on campaigns. Sinha's arrival in Telangana was supported by the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which held a massive rally in support, while the TPCC remained aloof.

Defying the TPCC's insistence to keep a distance, senior Congress leader MLA T Jayaprakash Reddy (Jagga Reddy) and V Hanumath Rao had supported Sinha publicly and called Revanth Reddy "unfit" to govern the party. The disgruntlement reached a crescendo when Congress prepared for Munugode bypoll, during which TPCC's candidate selection was constantly questioned by the older rungs.

A senior Congress leader told The Quint, "In the Congress, seniority and experience always mattered. But in Telangana, the trend has been to support leaders who have little understanding of the working of the party. We brought this to the attention of the High Command several times."

At the receiving end of the ire of Congress' old guard are B Manickam Tagore, who is in charge of the state unit, and TPCC President A Revanth Reddy. However, Revanth had recently fallen out of the High Command's favour, a source said.

"The most serious complaint about Revanth is that he has been running the party like a private institution by favouring those close to him. While this was first considered to be an effort to revamp the party, it is now learnt that his managerial skills are under question even at the High Command level," the source said.

The senior leaders, including Uttam Kumar Reddy, has been apprising the national leadership of growing disillusionment among the older leaders, the source said.

"From August to November 2022, the older rungs of the party had expressed on several forums, the dissatisfaction with Revanth Reddy. The matter was under consideration of the Congress' national leadership and only then did the older leaders of the party hold the press conference against Revanth," the source further explained.

Meaning, the Congress High Command was already aware of the growing resentment among the older rungs before the matter came out in public.

Revanth Reddy has had the support of the national leader in charge of the state, Manickam Tagore, the source said. The disgruntlement among the older rungs also reached a peak when election strategist Sunil Kanugolu took over the campaign in Telangana.

Telangana is expected to go to polls in 2023.

Is Congress Weakened by Resignations, Rebellion?

According to sources, resignations of some of leaders including MLA Danasari Anasuya from their respective posts in the party's state unit is expected to affect the public image of the Congress.

"Leaders like Seethakka (Anasuya) have been the face of the Congress ever since they joined the party. Losing them over this rebellion is going to set the Congress back by years," a source said. Danasari Anasuya, who was earlier with the TDP, has been close to Revanth Reddy. An Adivasi leader, she is a Congress MLA who rose to prominence for her role in helping Adivasis during COVID-19 pandemic.

A source said, "The older rungs of the Congress are not against leaders like Seethakka. But the way some leaders alone have been getting all the prominent posts in the party are under question. This rebellion is mostly about Revanth's poor leadership than anything else."

The Congress has been struggling in Telangana as several of its leaders joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which is now called Bharat Rashtra Samithi, after 2019 Assembly elections. Some Congress leaders had also joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, as the state unit further weakened due to leadership crisis at the top. Losing more leaders – either of the old rung or the new – cannot bode well for the party.

"We are entering a poll year in 2023, and this was supposed to be the time the Congress stresses on its unity. Instead, we have a crisis brewing and only the High Command can solve it as all the rungs should ideally come together," a Congress source said.

While the High Command assigned Digvijay Singh to solve the Telangana debacle, the talks have not yet materialised, a source said.

The Congress should ideally go for a change in leadership in the state, a senior leader of the party said. "The others who have resigned can still continue with the Congress, but the state leadership has to change its management style," he said.

The older rung of the leaders could stop at nothing less than Revanth Reddy's resignation, sources indicated. Will this be the end of Reddy's stint in the grand old party?

"Revanth is a charismatic leader, who has what can be called street smarts. But that alone is not enough, the Congress High Command too seems to have realised," a senior leader said.