The man in the news of Telugu states’ politics is Anumula Revanth Reddy. The 47-year-old Telugu Desam Party leader who had grabbed a lot of media attention earlier was on May 31, 2015 when the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested him following a sting operation on his alleged attempt to bribe a nominated MLA, Elvis Stephenson, to vote in favour of a TDP candidate in the Legislative Council poll.
The charges against him were serious and sensational. A criminal case had been filed against him, along with two others, and after a few days of judicial custody, Revanth got conditional bail from the High Court on June 30, 2015. Though it has remained a black mark on his high political career, it has neither diminished his stature nor fiery public speaking.
As the working president of Telangana TDP and the floor leader of that party in the Telangana State Legislative Assembly, Revanth has pushed the sordid episode under the carpet and continued to play a role what his mentor Chandrababu Naidu expected of him in the Assembly and on public platforms.
What happened to the bribe case, nobody knows, at least the public. After creating a stir two years ago when the rivalry between the two chief ministers of the Telugu states is at its peak, the story died a natural death. But the scandal seems to have ended the turf war between TDP and TRS with an unwritten gentleman’s agreement.
Now, Revanth has catapulted himself on to the centre stage of Telugu politics by hobnobbing with Congress leaders. His broad hints of switching side have been bringing broad smiles to state Congress leaders and they are going extra mile to welcome him into their party fold in the presence of none other than Rahul Gandhi.
While Revanth’s political gestures and manoeuvres have elated some Telangana Congress leaders who are looking for a face that could revive a moribund party, the old guard is not too happy for obvious reasons. They think that one-time blue eyed boy of Chandrababu Naidu would dump them, given a chance, and could easily worm his way into the hearts of Congress central command.
At the same time, TDP is squirming and mulling over options to save its face. Since Revanth has not officially quit TDP, the party has to weigh its options carefully before calling for action. It is also possible that he may be testing political waters before deciding on his next move. Either way, it’s a major setback for TDP and its supremo Chandrababu who has firmly stood by Revanth, at the cost of alienating some party loyalists, during his trials and tribulations.
However, the one million dollar question is: Why Revanth wants to cross the river? Political pundits see a long-term strategy, which can be real or fictitious. Of late, there is discontentment in the Telugu Reddy community which sees political domination by other castes in the two states. If the situation is allowed to continue at current pace, Reddys will be nowhere. So, they want to regain the community’s political power in the 2019 Assembly polls.
The groundwork is being prepared now with an eye on the next elections. The Congress, left abandoned in the Telugu states after bifurcation, has found an ally in the Reddy community and wants to take advantage of their frustration in the next poll. Who can be a better face than Revanth Reddy’s to project him as the young dynamic leader of Congress in the region? Apparently, YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy too has factored in the Reddy issue before chalking out his poll strategy.
Telugu Desam will be the obvious loser if analysts prove right. But more worry for the TDP brass should be if Revanth Reddy starts opening cupboards to let skeletons tumble out.
