Revanth Reddy knows the stakes. Telangana’s history won’t remember a leader who merely dreamed big; it will judge him by the bridges he built, the jobs he created, the and trust he earned.
Published Apr 13, 2025 | 4:46 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 13, 2025 | 4:46 PM
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. (X)
Synopsis: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who intends to create a legacy, faces an uphill task in creating an image for himself as a transformative leader. His journey rests on how well he can navigate choppy waters, a skill, it is said, he is yet to master given his inexperience.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy appears to be a man in a hurry, not just to govern, but to etch his name in the annals of the state’s history. Unlike his predecessors, whose legacies loom large, Revanth Reddy faces an uphill task in creating an image for himself as a transformative leader.
He wants to be known as the architect of a Telangana that is youthful and prosperous. In other words, it should be a land of milk and honey, driven by education, employment, and global appeal. However, it is easier said than done.
The road that stretches out before him in endless miles has several booby traps and internal rifts, testing his resolve at every turn.
Revanth Reddy has not hidden his ambition to build a personal brand for himself. At the inauguration of the Young India Police School in Manchirevula near Hyderabad recently, he laid bare his aspirations. He declared that he wants to be remembered for giving priority to education and creating jobs for Telangana’s youth.
Drawing inspiration from the late NT Rama Rao’s ₹2-a-kg rice scheme, N Chandrababu Naidu’s IT infrastructure in Hyderabad, and the late YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s Jala Yagnam (water worship), he foresees a legacy that rivals theirs. “I want to create a name for myself,” he said, signalling his intent to leave a lasting impact.
His flagship projects reflect this drive. The ₹1.5 lakh crore Musi Riverfront Development Project, modelled on Gujarat’s Sabarmati, aims to rejuvenate Hyderabad’s river with heritage bridges, sewage treatment plants, and an East-West corridor to ease commuting. Though the project has come under flak, it is very ambitious because of its sheer size.
The Future City in Mucherla is another bold initiative, seen as a hub for artificial intelligence (AI) — the new mantra in the software world — medical tourism, sports, and pharmaceuticals.
At the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, Revanth Reddy pitched Hyderabad as the “fastest and greenest city,” securing ₹40,232 crore in investments. In 2025, the figure went up to ₹1.79 lakh crore, even though there might be a slip betwixt the cup and the lip when it comes to actual grounding.
Another initiative which is close to his heart is Young India, a narrative aimed at empowering Telangana’s youth. With an ₹11,000 crore allocation for Young India Integrated Residential Schools and the commencement of Young India Skills University, Revanth Reddy is trying to position himself as a champion of education and the concomitant opportunities that follow.
Playing football with students at Young India Police School shows his inclination to mix with the new generation in the making.
Yet, Revanth Reddy’s ambitions are not without formidable hurdles. His sudden rise to the chief minister’s chair in 2023, after Congress’s surprise Assembly election victory, was a chance that the party high command took. Though he lacked administrative experience, he was chosen for his swashbuckling charisma and ability to take on the BRS head-on.
However, this outsider status — his migration to Congress from TDP in October 2017 — bred distrust within his party, so much so that senior leaders at that time used to say he was converting the entire Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) into TDPCC (Telugu Desam Party Congress Committee).
Senior leaders, including Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and N Uttam Kumar Reddy, had raised a banner of revolt against him in 2022, barely a year and a half after he became the president of the TPCC in July 2021. After Congress came to power in the state, his detractors, having been accommodated in important cabinet positions, appeared to have reconciled to the second-best bestowed on them.
BRS leaders, led by KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao, are a relentless adversary to Revanth Reddy, breathing down his neck for moving its “cheese” in the elections.
Smarting from their 2023 defeat, they pounce every time Revanth Reddy flounders, branding him a “management quota candidate” and unfit for leadership. KTR’s taunts sting, as they accuse him of mismanaging the state’s finances. Reddy retorts that finances were left barren by the BRS when they left office.
Revanth Reddy’s governance blunders fuel attacks on him further. The Musi Riverfront project, estimated to cost about ₹1.5 lakh crore, has sparked near-revolt as government officials began evictions to pave the way for the implementation of the project. Promises of 15,000 2BHK apartments and ₹25,000 shifting allowances did not quell the protests.
Then, most recently, the Kancha Gachibowli land auction, meant to fund development, backfired when University of Hyderabad students and activists protested ecological destruction, accusing the government of decimating green cover.
His brashness has often backfired. In March 2025, responding to a BRS-backed video campaign, Revanth Reddy lashed out, saying he would “strip and parade” critics posing as journalists — a remark that not only drew widespread condemnation but reportedly had Congress’s Delhi leadership worried over the declining standards of governance in Telangana.
Revanth Reddy’s journey to build his legacy rests on how well he can navigate choppy waters, a skill, it is said, he lacks because of his inexperience.
Delivering results in this challenging environment is no easy task, as the projects before him are gargantuan: putting in place Musi’s infrastructure, building the Future City, and creating jobs through investments to make his dream of “Young India” come true.
Internally, he faces a tightrope walk while dealing with those who pull in different directions. Unifying Congress’s factions requires a fine blend of flexibility and firmness, a trait that is at odds with his combative nature.
Of late, he is showing some maturity, restraining himself even at the height of provocation by the heckling by BRS brigades.
His alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) for the projects in the Old City of Hyderabad like the Metro extension to Falaknuma shows political astuteness, taking the Muslim minority in stride and converting this goodwill into electoral benefit when the time comes.
He also seemed to have realised that BRS’ relentless attacks require tempered responses, not knee-jerk retorts, to avoid playing into their narrative of portraying him as authoritarian.
If Hyderabad’s metro expands, investments materialise and youth find jobs, Revanth Reddy’s job is almost done. He might even be regarded as Telangana’s modern visionary. However, the going will be very tough. At the same time, he should watch out for governance lapses, like the February 2025 SLBC tunnel incident, which continue to cause concern.
If there had been constant monitoring of the condition of the tunnel, it is said, lives could have been saved.
His image as a bold, youth-friendly leader is potent, but at the same time, it looks fragile, as there are not just several X-factors and black swans that might emerge, upsetting his apple cart.
Every controversy — whether the Musi evictions or the Gachibowli protests — tests his resolve, even as the BRS continues its crystal-gazing over his replacement.
Revanth Reddy knows the stakes. Telangana’s history won’t remember a leader who merely dreamed big; it will judge him by the bridges he built, the jobs he created, the and trust he earned.
The road ahead is thorny, but for a man in a hurry, he cannot slow down. Whether he rises as Telangana’s trailblazer or stumbles under the weight of unseen but powerful factors depends on his ability to blend ambition with execution.
Political analyst A Suresh Kumar said: “Revanth Reddy’s intention of creating education infrastructure and employment is no doubt noble. But he has to prove that he can achieve what he has dreamed of despite the heavy odds stacked against him. If he succeeds, the people will remember him for the service he rendered. In any situation, there will always be factors that work against one. The real mettle of a leader comes out when he rises above them.”
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
