Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
TTelangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy seems to be steadily consolidating his position within the Telangana government as well as the state Congress unit, sending clear signals that he intends to shape the future leadership of the party with young faces and create his own group of loyalists. This was reflected in his appointment as party whips to the Assembly and the Legislative Council.
The three newly appointed Assembly Whips, Vemula Veeresham, Vijaya Ramana Rao and Yennam Srinivas Reddy, are relatively recent entrants to the Congress from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Similarly, Addanki Dayakar and Venkat Balmoor, both first-time legislators and known loyalists of the chief minister, were appointed as whips in the Legislative Council. They are all young too.
Patnam Mahender Reddy, who retired from BRS and shares long-standing ties with Mr. Reddy, will continue as the Government Chief Whip in the Council.
Active consolidation
Sources suggest that the recent decisions were influenced by Mr. Reddy despite the formation of a coordination committee to bridge the gap between the government and the party. Besides Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Gouda, the committee includes senior ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Damodar Raja Narasimha. The inclusion of Minister Seethakka, considered a close confidant of Mr. Reddy, attracted attention, especially as several long-serving veterans were left out.
Moreover, recent developments involving senior leader T. Jeevan Reddy have added another dimension to Mr. Reddy’s alleged consolidation. Jeevan Reddy, considered one of the senior Congress leaders in Telangana, expressed displeasure over the induction of a BRS MLA from his constituency without his consultation. Despite expressing his displeasure, he received almost no reassurance on the matter.
In party circles, the episode is seen as a signal that any opposition to the chief minister’s political strategy will not sit well with him.
These measures also set the blueprint for the Chief Minister’s long-term plan and repeated claim – that his government will remain in power for 10 years. Congressional leaders interpret this not only as political optimism but also as a statement of intent. His recent sharp exchanges with the opposition in the Assembly have reinforced this perception. In response to jibes from BRS lawmakers, he declared that he would “crush” his opponents in the next election, as he had done in December 2023. Although this was sparked by the opposition’s remarks, many in Congress believe that the message underscored his undisputed authority in the party.
There is currently no visible challenger to Mr. Reddy in the state unit. And his recent organizational decisions indicate that he is determined to ensure that there are no parallel centers of power.
Congress loyal
Despite consolidating power in the state, Mr. Reddy has consistently emphasized his loyalty to the Congress high command. He often credits Soni Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for reposing faith in him at a critical juncture and attributes the formation of the Congress government in Telangana to their trust.
He won the confidence of the Gandhi family by returning the Congress government after 10 years of BRS rule. His elevation to TPCC president roughly a year before the 2023 parliamentary elections marked a decisive shift in the party’s fortunes. At the time, Congress morale was at an all-time low, with a constant stream of defections to the BRS.
Mr. Reddy’s appointment has infused new enthusiasm into the cadre. He assumed confidence that the Congress could wrest power from the invincible K. Chandrashekar Rao. In a national climate where the Congress faced repeated electoral setbacks, the Telangana unit under his leadership defeated the BRS. The victory was considered one of the most significant comebacks of the Congress at the state level. Now that he has built a cohort of younger leaders and trusted loyalists, he seems determined to shape both governance and the party’s future on his strengths.
Published – 23 March 2026 01:26 IST
