The BJP leader's campaign — that electing either Revanth or KCR would serve no purpose as neither was a local — caught the voters' attention.
File photo of K Venkata Ramana Reddy (towards the centre, in all white) with BJP activists. (kvr4kamareddy/X)
The BJP’s candidate for the Kamareddy Assembly seat, Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy, emerged the giant slayer of Telangana after pushing BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao to the second position in the contest, a humiliation which he probably had not foreseen even in his wildest dreams.
In fact, you can call the 53-year-old BJP leader a dual-giant slayer, for he also pushed Congress state unit chief president A Revanth Reddy to the third position in the triangular contest of Kamareddy.
The Congress leader had thought he would be grappling with KCR in the segment, but ended up watching Venkata Ramana Reddy and KCR battle it out.
ఈ విజయం కామారెడ్డి నియోజకవర్గ ప్రజల ప్రజలందరిది pic.twitter.com/bGLlHGOF6G
— Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy BJP (@kvr4kamareddy) December 3, 2023
What flummoxed everyone was how a relatively nondescript personality went to the extent of taking down the two doughty leaders, scripting one of the most special election victories in Telangana.
For one thing, Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy is a local leader and is known very well to the people because he had been engaged in social service over the last few years. He lives in the constituency and is accessible to all.
His campaign message — that electing either Revanth or KCR would serve no purpose as neither was a local — caught the attention of the voters.
He also pointed out that the “car” (the BRS election symbol) had come to Kamareddy but it would finally return to Gajwel. Similarly, the man with the “hand” symbol (Revanth) had come to Kamareddy but he, too, would return to his home constituency of Kodangal, said the BJP leader.
If the people elect any of the two, they would have to prepare for a by-election soon because whoever won the seat was sure to vacate it, said Reddy.
He was also able to get traction with the people with his observation that it was KCR and Revanth Reddy who had come to his constituency and not the other way around.
Another issue that helped him was his leadership in the agitation against the attempts of the state government to thrust a new Master Plan on Kamaredddy.
The draft master plan identified several zones — like industrial and green — in eight villages that came under the Master Plan, which annoyed farmers, who feared they would lose their agricultural lands.
Ramana Reddy fought with the state government for 45 days on the issue until it withdrew the Master Plan proposal.
Earlier, in 2018, he fought on behalf of the women beneficiaries of a scheme for the release of funds that were due towards them by going on a hunger strike at the district collector’s office. It forced the government to release the funds.
He has been organising Sivaratri festivities in the Kamareddy town and Sri Rama Navami Shobha Yatra every year since 2019.
He became very popular after he organised food for migrant labourers for 26 days during the Covid-19 nightmare on the national highway.
He had also taken a personal interest in helping Covid-19 patients get admission to hospitals and necessary treatment. He also organised rallies in support of the Citizens Amemdment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Kamareddy.
He was born to Pedda Raja Reddy and he lives in KPR Colony in Adlur Road in Kamareddy. He runs a high school in the town. He joined the BJP on April 18, 2018. He has studied up to Intermediate.
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