Crisis in Telangana Congress deepens after Dasoju quits. Are more exits on the cards?

Does state party chief Revanth Reddy have it in him to reverse the downward spiral the party seems to be in?

ByRaj Rayasam

Published Aug 06, 2022 | 6:05 PMUpdatedAug 11, 2022 | 12:10 PM

Crisis in Telangana Congress deepens after Dasoju quits. Are more exits on the cards?

Telangana Congress has erupted like a volcano after Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy left its ranks in a huff. His exit, which was more an expression of his anger at the party leadership for promoting A Revanth Reddy to the position of PCC chief, has had a domino effect.

The first casualty was the intellectual face of the Congress, Dasoju Sravan, who called it quits, making it clear that he can no longer remain a slave in the party, implying that one had to pledge one’s fealty to Revanth Reddy to survive in the party.

His grouse was that Revanth Reddy had brought in former Congress MLA late P Janardhan Reddy’s daughter Vijaya Reddy into the party by promising her a party ticket to contest from Jubilee Hills in the next Assembly elections.

Dasoju Sravan, who had eyed the seat, saw his dream crumbling, and was waiting for an opportune time to quit.

Congress has changed, says Dasoju

When Rajagopal Reddy quit, he took the cue and announced his decision to leave the party for good. Though he did not pour venom on Revanth Reddy, he, however, said that he was leaving because the party had undergone a change that was fundamentally undesirable.

Sravan left the party even as Revanth Reddy and the leaders who support him were busy with a public meeting at Chandur in Munugode assembly segment where the PCC president had launched a pincer attack on Rajagopal Reddy for forsaking the party at a time when it needed strength to pull itself together and face the challenge posed by the TRS and the BJP.

Ever since Revanth Reddy was made the party president, most of the seniors in the party were against his elevation. In fact, they vehemently opposed his entry and did not hide their displeasure when he was made the working president.

Brothers Komatireddy vs Revanth Reddy

Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who was the aspirant for PCC leadership, had remained Revanth’s bitter critic ever since. His younger brother Rajagopal Reddy, who represents Munugode in the state Assembly, too was feeling ill at ease with Revanth Reddy, running the show, without giving any importance to either of them.

Revanth Reddy

Revanth Reddy with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. (Facebook)

Revanth Reddy, while tearing into Rajagopal Reddy immediately after he shot off his resignation letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, unwittingly dragged Venkat Reddy also into his diatribe which ruffled the latter’s feathers.

He immediately hit out at Revanth Reddy that he should keep in mind that he was still in the Congress and watch out what he spoke about him. Revanth Reddy could vent out his spleen at Rajagopal as he had left the Congress but not at him. He demanded an unconditional apology.

Another reason why Venkat Reddy was furious with Revanth Reddy was that he had taken Cheruku Sudhakar — who worked against his interests in the last Lok Sabha elections — into the party. As both of them do not see eye to eye, Venkat Reddy said that Revanth Reddy had done it on purpose and therefore he had decided not to see his face in the future.

Venkat’s bete noire for Munugode?

Sources said that Venkat Reddy hit the roof because Revanth Reddy is planning to field Sudhakar, who is his arch-rival, as the party’s candidate in the by-election to Munugode seat. He vented his spleen at Revanth for conducting the meeting at Chandur without consulting him, especially as Munugode is part of his Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency.

Komatireddy Venkat Reddy

Komatireddy Venkat Reddy during his election campaign. (Facebook)

Though the Komatireddy brothers separately met Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday, 4 August, the development ignited speculation that Venkat Reddy is also preparing to bid adieu to the Congress.

A cryptic remark by BJP state president Bandi Sanjay that Venkat Reddy also might join the BJP, set the cat among the pigeons in the Congress.

In a sharp reaction, Venkat Reddy burst out at the media for reporting falsehoods and said that till his last breath he would remain in the Congress, but at the same time he said if he wants to join the BJP, he would not do it surreptitiously but would announce it boldly.

BJP sets cat among pigeons

Enthused by the exit of Rajagopal Reddy and Dasoju, the BJP has gone into an overdrive, saying that the party’s stock is up and everyone was looking at it with growing admiration. This is causing a lot of discomfiture to the Congress leaders who are loyal to Revanth Reddy as he tries to prevent further haemorrhage to the party.

Revanth Reddy’s supporters believe that the exit of the leaders who are ranged against him would only do good to the party as he would be able to build a team of his choice and face future electoral challenges with more confidence.

With his detractors pulling him down all the time, Revanth Reddy finds the going tough with the BJP and TRS going to a town that the Congress is down in the dumps.

Revanth Reddy’s supporters call the exit of his detractors from the party was some kind of a catharsis that was a long time coming, while his critics say that the party is already on a downward spiral and that, by the time the elections arrive, it would become a dead duck.