While Chandrashekar Rao remains undisputed mass leader in Telangana, younger leaders across party lines are asserting their positions.
(In the background) G Kishan Reddy, A Revanth Reddy, K Chandrashekar Rao. (Foreground) Eatala Rajender, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Venkat Reddy, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, T Harish Rao, KT Rama Rao.
Politics has taken centre stage in Telangana with Assembly elections barely five months away. Even as parties prepare their respective game plans to woo the people of the state, leaders, cutting across party lines, are cementing their positions — including many with chief ministerial aspirations.
As elections draw closer, here are the leaders from the three political outfits in Telangana which have the capacity to form the government and are set to leave their mark on the electoral battlefield, with eyes set on the top job — if not immediately, at least in the long run.
South First analyses their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats rolled into a “cheat sheet” to understand the political arena of Telangana.
If the BRS were to return to power in Telangana, there is no question who the chief minister will be. After all, incumbent Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao is the party.
Being the undisputed mass leader in Telangana is his greatest strength. Two terms in office already, and KCR’s popularity has changed little on the ground.
He leads the ruling BRS which has a strong support base among the people of Telangana for achieving statehood. A powerful Velama leader, KCR commands great respect among Velamas and Reddys — both dominant landed gentry in Telangana.
KCR has charisma, coupled with oratory skills. His flagship welfare programmes are popular.
His strengths are Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Aasara pensions, Kalyana Lakshmi, Shadi Mubarak, KCR Kits, and pensions for beedi workers.
With AIMIM’s backing, at least till now, KCR also enjoys support among Muslims. KCR is banking on farmer-centric policies, like improving the irrigation facilities with the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project and supply of 24×7 free power supply to the farm sector to bring him returns.
Despite all this, KCR isn’t without his share of weaknesses.
Dynasty politics, and nepotism within the party and government are loud criticisms against KCR. Inaccessibility to Cabinet colleagues and the general public has created an unfavourable perception of KCR.
On the governance front, KCR has not been able to address issues of growing unemployment, increasing debt, and unequal development.
Other than anti-incumbency at the local level, KCR also faces corruption chargesm and criticism for his “lavish lifestyle”, and expenditure on religious rituals.
In the absence of any other mass leader cutting across party lines, KCR has the undeniable opportunity to cash in on his popularity and may even score a hat trick in the upcoming polls.
Making no secrets of his national ambitions, KCR is looking to expand his party’s base in other states — more so in Maharashtra where he sees an opportunity.
As the chief minister, KCR has the advantage of showcasing his government’s work while preventing the onward march of the BJP, leveraging his friendly ties with AIMIM and winning more seats in the state.
But 10 years in government also opens him up to threats — from within and outside the party.
Having lost some prominent leaders like Eatala Rajender, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, and the like to the BJP and Congress, KCR faces dissent from within.
The resurgence of Congress and the aspiration of the BJP to leave a mark in the upcoming polls are clear threats to KCR, forcing him to take some corrective measures.
If KCR were to drop out from the race for the chief minister to focus on his national ambitions, there is little doubt as to who will succeed him.
His son and BRS Working President KT Rama Rao is the heir apparent.
As a minister, KTR has emerged from the shadows of his towering father and has carved a niche for himself as a youth leader, and technocrat with a vision for Telangana’s growth, consciously building a public persona.
KTR speaking after inaugurating the Uppal Skywalk. (Twitter)
Often deemed the “CM-in-waiting”, KTR delivers fiery speeches, wields enormous power in the government, and is sometimes even considered a “de facto” chief minister.
With two post-graduate degrees in biotechnology and marketing from reputed universities, KTR is credited with groundbreaking initiatives and policies for urban development, industrial growth, the IT sector, and welfare schemes in Telangana.
He is popular among the youth and in the urban areas. He is active on social media and engages with the public regularly.
He is always alert in turning the tables against the BJP and the Congress whenever there is an occasion.
KTR’s critics often accuse him of being a product of dynasty politics and nepotism.
He can make the people eat out of his hand the moment he begins addressing them, but unlike his father, he is not as popular among the rural masses though he represents Siricilla, a rural Assembly segment in North Telangana.
The image of a “White Collared” politician has stuck to KTR — a weakness compounded by the fact that he spends most of his time in Hyderabad.
While his father is an icon of the Telangana movement, KTR wasn’t as involved in its early days.
After obtaining his MBA degree in Marketing and E-Commerce from the City University of New York, NY, in 2001, he worked in the US till 2006. He then returned to India and joined what was then the TRS.
He was elected to the Assembly from Sircilla in 2009. As working president of BRS, the rumblings in the party are as much a headache for him.
Despite these shortcomings, KTR has excelled in positioning himself as a leader with a vision for Telangana and his pitches as minister of IT and industries have helped propel that image.
As BRS working president, there is no doubt about his position in the party. In this election, KTR has the added responsibility to prove to the people that he could be the rightful successor to his father.
His position in the party by virtue of being KCR’s son itself has drawn criticism against KTR, with internal dissent threatening to spread further in the party.
Like his father, he has to draw up strategies to ward off the advances of the Congress and the BJP, which pose a real threat to the BRS’ continuance in power.
Rebellion against him is not an impossibility in the party.
By far the most popular leader in Telangana after KCR, Harish Rao has been serving as an MLA from Siddipet since 2004.
In the unlikely event of the BRS going the Nationalist Congress Party way, Harish Rao is presumed to be the automatic choice for the top post.
Although KCR’s nephew, Harish Rao enjoys personal popularity among the masses, especially the rural population.
Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao visiting rain affected farmers. (Twitter)
A fierce fighter during the Telangana movement, Rao was everywhere during those heady days between 2009 and 2014.
He took part in almost all important agitations organised by the Joint Action Committee of which the TRS (now BRS) was the main, and most important, constituent.
The fact that he makes a clean sweep — leaving very few votes to his opponents — poll after poll in his constituency tells you all about the influence he wields.
A formidable leader, Harish Rao is KCR’s lieutenant with his foot and ears firmly on the ground.
When not in the secretariat, one can find Harish Rao amid the people, sitting with the aged and youth alike, often riding a bike to connect with people in his constituency, assuming an “approachable” demeanour.
His residence in Hyderabad is always teeming with people seeking help. Having held the Finance, Irrigation, and Health portfolios, Rao is a key part of KCR’s governance.
He is instrumental in the implementation of the world’s largest multi-stage lift irrigation project — Kaleshwaram in Telangana — carving a niche for himself in the hearts of the farmers.
As the nephew of KCR, Harish Rao too carries the tag of being a product of dynasty/family politics — a big criticism.
Despite a longer association with KCR and the Telangana movement, Harish Rao has been compelled to cede space to KTR.
Within the party and outside, Harish Rao enjoys support, yet is placed after KCR’s immediate family in the party’s perceived hierarchy.
The same popularity, however, offers him scope for expanding his influence and network in other regions and constituencies of Telangana.
As a popular leader and powerful speaker, Harish Rao has bright prospects of growing further in the party as he is not only knowledgeable about the departments he holds, but also the rural issues which play a major role in making or marring one’s prospects.
But threats loom large, too, with increasing competition within the party and challengers from rival parties.
It has long been rumoured that he does not get along with his cousin and KCR’s son KTR, which might work against him going forward.
As Telangana Congress president, it is only natural that most assume Revanth Reddy would be the party’s chief minister face if it manages to win the Assembly elections.
Revanth Reddy, who joined Telangana Congress as working president in 2017 from the TDP, became TPCC president in June 2021.
With his long experience in politics, which started with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — the student arm of the Sangh Parivar — Revanth Reddy wields enormous influence among his caste men who constitute about five percent of the population in the state.
Seen as Congress’ muscle and money man in Telangana, Revanth hails from the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district which had the tag of the most underdeveloped in the entire state and whose labourers used to go to other states in search of livelihood.
He has a following among the Andhra voters who have settled in Hyderabad because of his long association with the TDP and its chief N Chandrababu Naidu.
A fiery critic of KCR, his son KTR, his daughter Kavitha, and the BRS government in general, Revanth Reddy is a crowd-puller, especially among the youth, thanks to his incendiary speeches.
None in the Telangana Congress can pick up issues to put the BRS on the backfoot quite as effectively as Revanth Reddy — from Dharani portal to unemployment.
Despite the fiery leader that he is, in a party that has a problem of plenty when it comes to leadership, Revanth carries the tag of an “outsider”.
His “absence” during the Telangana movement is a shortcoming in a state that prides itself on the statehood agitation.
Known to be an ardent follower of Chandrababu Naidu, Revanth Reddy is not new to controversies.
From his alleged involvement in a cash-for-vote scam when he was in the TDP, to accusations of land encroachment and tax evasion, Revanth Reddy faces several allegations.
His critics describe him as a TDP leader in Congress clothing.
Yet, in a failing Congress, Revanth Reddy was given the opportunity to revive its prospects. Age, caste, resources, and political experience works in his favour, yet Revanth has baiters within.
Following his appointment as the TPCC chief, Revanth Reddy brought in new life, and new blood into the party.
Revanth Reddy has the backing of the party’s senior and most influential leader Rahul Gandhi.
He has built his band of leaders in the party to ward off any attack on him by the seniors — the old guard. He can leverage his persona to get more sections of society interested in the Congress.
Threats to Revanth Reddy aren’t limited to rival parties, but are the strongest from within. The only threat to him outside Congress is KCR, who is a towering leader in Telangana and Reddy is simply no match. Unlike Revanth Reddy, KCR has a magnetic pull among the rural voters.
Revanth has to reckon with the intra-party enemies, who are quite few in number. They will bide their time to deal him a blow and he has to watch out for them.
Leading the rivals of Revath are Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkata Reddy and Nalgonda parliamentarian N Uttam Kumar Reddy.
Though not his enemy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who has joined the Congress recently, might emerge as another power centre in the party.
A strongman in the party and his community, Venkata Reddy wields considerable influence in the Nalgonda district.
He won four consecutive terms as MLA from Nalgonda from 1999 to 2014. He won the election to the Lok Sabha from Bhongir in 2019.
A “people’s man”, Reddy is credited for responding instantaneously to any human tragedy and distress.
Congress leader Komatireddy Venkata Reddy. (Supplied)
His long association with the Telangana movement — despite being an ardent follower of former chief minister of united Andhra YS Rajasekhara Reddy, or YSR, and a known “integrationist” — has helped people make a distinction between his loyalty to YSR and his commitment to the Telangana movement.
He, like so many others, resigned as minister during the Telangana movement to convince the people of his commitment to the cause of a separate state.
A former minister in the inited Andhra Pradesh government, Reddy has been involved in youth politics since his college days.
The Komatireddy Prateek Foundation, established in memory of his son Prateek Reddy who met with an accident on 20 December, 2011, runs a junior college and vocational junior college for girls, operates ambulance services, and powers campaigns for road safety — all of it a hit with his supporters.
He makes no secret of his ambition; sometimes, it turns into his weakness, opening him up for political attacks.
He is always in the limelight by projecting himself as the only leader in the party. His hatred for Revanth Reddy is no secret.
Such is his confidence that Venkatreddy campaigned for his brother Rajagopal Reddy in the by-election to Munugode last year though he was in the fray on a BJP ticket. He remains a thorn in Revanth’s flesh.
Despite what many may deem “indiscipline”, Venkata Reddy still enjoys clout in Congress.
He can bolster his image and improve his public persona and popularity by sinking differences with his enemies in the party and at least make it appear that the party is a cohesive whole.
He can leverage his experience and expertise in various sectors to nail the government for its lapses and thus improve his rating in the Congress.
As he has a lot of clout in his Nalgonda district he could use it to not only further his interests as a politician but also to refurbish the image of the party.
As Nalgonda is a stronghold for Congress, its contribution to the Congress would turn invaluable at the time of the elections.
The factionalism in Congress is a threat to Vankata Reddy.
Though he is a powerful leader in his district, he cannot afford to take KCR lightly as the BRS chief is endowed with skills of spoiling the Opposition’s broth.
He also has to watch out for the possibility of Revanth Reddy throwing his oar in and fouling up his plans in ascending the ladder in the party.
Congress leaders Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Madhu Yashki Goud and Cheruku Sudhakar visited the students on Saturday, 12 November (Supplied).
If Dalit chief minister for Telangana were to be Congress’ poll pitch, the party need not look beyond its Legislative Party leader Bhatti Vikramarka, anyway an aspirant to the post.
If he can play his cards well, it may not be all that difficult. As he is a Dalit, he has an added advantage, especially vis-a-vis KCR’s unkept promise of making a Dalit the chief minister of the state.
“A gentleman politician” is how even rival party leaders describe Bhatti, who is known for integrity. He recently completed his 100-day walkathon covering more than 1,000 km across Telangana, which has enhanced his image and that of the party.
He has become more visible outside his Madhira constituency in the Khammam district with his padayatra, as he got to interact with people in various districts.
Bhatti Vikramarka has had a long innings in public life. He served as MLA, MLC, chief whip, and deputy speaker. He is the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Telangana.
But putting on a show — central to emerging as a mass leader in politics — is just not his cup of tea. He is not a fiery speaker like Revanth Reddy or KCR or KTR.
He has till now been operating in his home district of Khammam and his home constituency of Madhira, and as a result, is not known very well outside.
His role in the Telangana movement is very much like any Congress leader as they were working under united Andhra chief ministers and the Congress high command, which remained indecisive on the formation of the Telangana state for a very long time.
As his native Khammam district is not affected by the Telangana movement, he was not as active as those in north Telangana districts.
As a Dalit leader, he has ample opportunities to grow in the party, especially when Congress is wooing the community with Dalit leader Mallikarjun Kharge as the party’s national president.
He could make use of the opportunity of proving his mettle by connecting with the Dalits and improving the prospects of the party as the focus is on bringing the Dalits back to the Congress.
The threat of being undercut by colleagues is true for Bhatti too. His ambitions to become the chief minister might hit a roadblock if the party does not capture power in the Assembly elections.
Even if the party wins the elections, he would have to look out for the other aspirants for the chief minister’s post within his party — like Revanth Reddy and Komatireddy Venkatareddy — who might spoil his broth.
Marred by internal dissent, the BJP central leadership took some big-ticket measures to put its house back in order.
Key among those measures was turning to a tried and tested hand — G Kishan Reddy — to helm the party in Telangana.
Although a distant third in Telangana’s electoral field, Kishan Reddy is among BJP’s top contenders for the chief minister post, if the saffron party were to be part of the government.
As state president, Kishan Reddy will be leading the BJP’s efforts to expand its base and challenge the ruling BRS.
He is a popular leader among the people of Hyderabad and is known for his accessibility and responsiveness.
Being a Reddy, he is expected to rally his community behind him by weaning them away from the Congress where they are more in number.
An active participant in the Telangana movement, Kishan Reddy took out the Telangana Poru Yatra for 22 days in 2012 during the turbulent days of the agitation, which drew a good response.
A hardcore BJP leader, tempered in the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Kishan Reddy has landed himself an opportunity to steer the party back on track as president for the fourth time.
His community is a strength but so is his loyalty to the party. He also brings with him the knack for smooth operations with leaders of rival parties as well. He is soft-spoken, strategic, and impactful.
But the lack of a following outside Hyderabad is his burden.
He carries the taint of not resigning as an MLA in 2010 to prove his Telangana credentials, though the only other BJP MLA, Endela Lakshminarayana, had put in his papers in support of a separate state.
Kishan Reddy faced criticism from the then-TRS leaders on this count. They said that he had no right to touch the Martyr’s Memorial.
A leader who has worked his way up from the grassroots, Kishan Reddy has the unquestioned support of the BJP’s central leadership.
As president of the BJP state unit, he now has the opportunity to endear himself with the people in the rural areas — which happens to be his Achilles heel.
If he plays his cards properly, he would become the unquestioned leader of the BJP in the state and remain in the party’s good books.
Though he has no enemies in the party, Kishan’s threats come primarily from Congress. He has to also be aware of the machinations of others rising in the party which might do collateral damage to him.
Now there are ambitious leaders in the party — Eatala Rajender, and Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy — who do not have the basic BJP ethos but joined the saffron brigade to exact revenge against KCR.
He will have to watch out for them as their moves might run counterproductive to his ambitions, though they may not actually mean any harm to him.
With the Congress rising in the state, he would have to use his caste factor to counter the Reddy-dominated grand old party’s recent upswing.
Any lapse in this might paint a picture that he was not very capable of taking on the enemy, the Congress.
Former aide of KCR, Eatala Rajender makes no secret of his ambition. He projects himself as the chief minister candidate though he has competitors in his party.
Hailing from the influential Mudiraju caste among the Backward Classes (BCs) — the community that is the second-most populous of all the BC castes, with a 29 lakh population, after Golla Kurumas with 30 lakhs in Telangana — Eatala is a priced possession for the BJP.
Eatala Rajender with his supporters. (Supplied)
He is an experienced and influential politician. He is a six-time MLA and has been a legislator from the Huzurabad constituency since 2009. He was a founding member of the TRS, in 2001.
He resigned as an MLA twice, in 2008 and 2010, for the Telangana cause. He also took part in various rallies, hunger strikes, and public meetings.
He was a vocal critic of the Congress and the TDP for betraying the Telangana people. He was also instrumental in forging alliances with other parties and groups that supported the Telangana movement, such as the BJP, the CPI, and the Telangana JAC.
He was a key strategist of the TRS during the movement.
A powerful speaker, he is known for his ability to expose KCR in his inimitable style of oratory.
He does not mince words when it comes to bringing down the BRS government. At a public meeting in Warangal in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part, he spoke in a tenor that made one wonder if he was asking people to support the BJP in the state, or to defeat the BRS government.
It is suspected that he worded his speech that way since he had doubts that there was some kind of a pact between the BJP and the BRS.
His straightforward attitude is often a bane for Eatala. He is known to call a spade a spade. Unlike other BJP leaders, he dared to tell the party’s central leadership that the line they had adopted in Telangana to bring down KCR was wrong.
He told them to disband Hindutva in Telangana as it never had the necessary edge, and finally forced the party leadership to sack incumbent party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar. This might be held against him at the time of reckoning.
He is not so popular in urban areas, particularly in Hyderabad. His operations are always in rural areas, particularly in Karimnagar district, in which his Huzurabad constituency is located.
After being forced out of BRS, Eatala’s conviction has grown stronger. He has the potential to emerge as a strong leader in the BJP despite an ideological mismatch.
As BRS leader in the past, he has established a network of party workers who he can leverage in favour of the BJP.
But the internal division in BJP, especially with other senior leaders or allies, is a threat to Eatala Rajender.
He has already rubbed several leaders the wrong way, including Bandi Sanjay and former MP A Jithender Reddy.
He has to watch out for KCR, who hates Eatala like a plague. KCR kicked him out on suspicion that he was planning a coup against him. As KCR’s influence extends into other parties as well, he has to watch his every step.
Ideologically committed, loyalist of the party, Bandi Sanjay Kumar was left mystified when he was replaced as president of the Telangana BJP unit — but his aspirations to be chief minister haven’t died down.
MP from Karimnagar constituency since 2019 after defeating a towering personality like BRS leader B Vinod Kumar, Bandi Sanjay was catapulted from being just a BJP worker to a formidable leader.
Bandi Sanjay at Lord Anjaneya Swamy temple at Kondagattu. (Supplied)
He has attained a pan-Telangana image with his Praja Sangrama Yatra — his brand of padayatra. He now has a following in almost all districts, however small or big.
He is instrumental in getting the party the kind of momentum it had acquired of late, nursing ambitions of challenging the BRS.
Hailing from the powerful Munnuru Kapu BC community, Bandi Sanjay is popular among the people of Karimnagar. He is known for his aggressive style of politics. He is a very bitter critic of KCR.
His aggression, it seems, has also earned Bandi Sanjay the reputation that he cannot get along with a section of leaders in the party.
This led to bad blood and finally culminated in dissident activity, eventually getting replaced him as party chief in the state. His primary rival in the BJP remains Eatala Rajender, who refused to accept Hindutva as a primary poll pitch in Telangana.
As far as the Telangana movement is concerned, Sanjay did not have much of a role. He came into the limelight only when he won the election to the Lok Sabha.
But he continues to be in the good books of the BJP. His removal as president is not because he was inefficient, it was more to placate the dissident leaders who might leave the party if no action was taken against Bandi Sanjay.
As he is a vocal critic of KCR, his services would be utilised in the elections, even though he may not be the president of the Telangana BJP anymore.
When he was called to address a public meeting attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Warangal recently, he drew a tremendous response, taking even the prime minister by surprise.
Bandi Sanjay, too, has detractors and enemies in the party, especially Eatala Rajender and Rajagopal Reddy, who complained to him to the party’s top leadership.
With his removal as president, recapturing the position he enjoyed in the party seems like a challenge.
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