There is widespread belief among leaders that the new CM should continue as state party president.
NEW DELHI
After the Congress party won the Assembly elections in Telangana, the party is contemplating to continue with the current leadership of the state cadre, helmed by Revanth Reddy as Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president. His continuation as TPCC chief will go hand in hand with his role as Chief Minister of Telangana.
Sources in the party suggest that Reddy was able to take the political fight with the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), right down to the grassroots, which helped the Congress gain its momentum and finally defeat the party. Telangana Congress working president Mahesh Kumar Gaud told The Sunday Guardian, “There is a high possibility that Revanth Reddy will remain the state cadre chief.”
Leaders privy to the developments say that former TPCC chief, Uttam Kumar Reddy too was a claimant to the CM’s post, however the Congress high command finds Revanth closer to them than anyone else. He has, according to party insiders, got closer to the Gandhis because he helped the Congress cross the majority mark of 60 out of 119 seats.
Earlier as well, his closeness with the Gandhis had earned him a free hand to deal with the structural amendments of the cadre and also decide on the ticket distribution to a great extent. The CM position was bestowed on him as a political reward. Consequently, there is a widespread belief among leaders in the state that he should continue as state party president.
A senior leader said, “The Gandhis have always been close to the Reddys (as a caste). The Reddys have always have favoured. Now that Revanth has won them a state, he may continue as the state party president as the Lok Sabha elections are coming closer. Moreover, there is a kind of enthusiasm in the party with him being at the top. If he is changed that enthusiasm will fade which will impact the party in the coming elections.”
Sources close to Uttam Kumar Reddy indicate that he could have been given the chair of Deputy Chief Minister, but he himself didn’t want it as there was an “ego clash”. A source said, “It was assumed that there would be two Deputy CMs. But then only Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka was made the Deputy CM. Whether Uttam Reddy will be a part of cabinet or not is not known. There are chances that he may not be a part of the Cabinet. The reason being ego clash.”
The source further added, “Uttam Reddy was the state chief of Telangana Congress from 2017 to 2021 and had failed to secure a win in 2018. Not only win but Congress won only 19 seats in that election. Later in 2021 the baton of leadership was passed to Revanth who had joined the Congress in 2017. Revanth gradually rose through the ranks and gained the confidence of the Gandhis, because of which Uttam became the number two in the party.”