Ensuring the stability of the government while simultaneously addressing the Congress’s declining support on the ground is now the tricky challenge before the party leadership.
Published Jun 23, 2025 | 8:15 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 23, 2025 | 8:45 AM
Revanth Reddy with Rahul Gandhi. (X)
Synopsis: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s frequent visits to Delhi to meet everyone from the prime minister to Union ministers – except his own party leader – have not only provided the Opposition with ample fodder for ridicule, but have also become a major topic of discussion within his own party. Sources said that it is undeniable Rahul Gandhi is unhappy with Revanth Reddy’s government in Telangana, but he is not yet considering a change in leadership.
For the umpteenth time, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy returned from Delhi on Saturday, 21 June, without getting an opportunity to meet Rahul Gandhi.
Revanth Reddy’s frequent visits to Delhi for meetings with everyone from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Union ministers, except with his own boss, have not only provided fodder for the Opposition to ridicule him, but have also become a topic of discussion within Telangana Congress circles.
The chief minister was in Delhi over the weekend. Friday also happened to be Rahul Gandhi’s birthday. Revanth Reddy put out a customary tweet, like many of his party colleagues, but was unable to greet him in person.
By denying an appointment to his own party’s chief minister, what message is Rahul Gandhi trying to send? What will be his approach to setting things right in Telangana? These are some of the questions Congressmen are now racking their brains over.
Information available with South First suggests that it is undeniable that Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is unhappy with the performance of his party’s government in Telangana.
Is he, therefore, considering a change in leadership? Perhaps not — at least for now.
“Rahul is clearly in a dilemma. On the one hand, he is sending a message to Revanth that he is cut up with him,” a senior leader familiar with the thinking in Delhi told South First.
“At the same time, Rahul also believes that, but for Revanth’s efforts, the Congress would not have come to power in Telangana in the December 2023 elections,” the leader added.
From his side, the chief minister is also said to be unhappy that his preferences no longer seem to carry weight when the central leadership decides on government or party positions.
For instance, none of the three leaders inducted into the Cabinet during the recent expansion were among those Revanth Reddy is believed to have preferred.
For a long time, the chief minister has also been pushing for a “working president” of his choice for the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). Delhi hasn’t obliged so far.
Revanth Reddy also seems to firmly believe that his detractors – and chief ministerial aspirants like Uttam Kumar Reddy – have stepped up their lobbying in Delhi, pushing for a leadership change by citing the Congress party’s declining fortunes in the state.
The central leadership, meanwhile, is said to be deeply disappointed with other senior leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy.
What has reportedly angered Rahul Gandhi is the perception that all of them have contributed to the Telangana government acquiring the dubious label of a “30 percent commission sarkar.”
The mess in which the Congress finds itself now is reflected in a recent development when four of its own legislators filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the high court alleging favouritism to a big builder in the construction of a high-rise community with the project value running into multi-million rupees.
In fact, there was widespread speculation of a complete portfolio reshuffle during the recent Cabinet expansion, in the light of charges of corruption. However, the proposal was dropped at the last minute, as the party leadership felt it needed more time to deal with the fallout.
Ensuring the stability of the government while simultaneously addressing the Congress’s declining support on the ground is now the tricky challenge before the party leadership.
Recent surveys by multiple agencies indicated a significant drop in the Congress vote share compared to the 2023 Assembly elections. This ranges from a minimum of seven to eight percent to as much as 15 percent. In a good number of constituencies, the loss of vote share for the Congress is turning out to be gain for the BJP, with the BRS, adding a nominal two to three percent to its 2023 performance.
For example, a survey by People’s Pulse – an established research agency – revealed that in the Jubilee Hills constituency in Hyderabad, where a by-election is due in a few months following the death of the sitting legislator, the BRS’s vote share is almost double that of the Congress.
Of course, it is a seat currently held by the BRS. However, the worrying aspect for the Congress is that its vote share in Jubilee Hills is likely to drop from 35 percent in 2023 to little over 20 percent now. The Congress could not win even a single seat in 2023 in the limits of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which has over two dozen Assembly constituencies.
That the party’s situation in Telangana, akin to that of a patient, is known to the bosses. What they remain undecided on is whether the case calls for medication — or surgery.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
