Revanth-led Cong completes one yr in office

Telangana's Congress government, led by CM Revanth Reddy, marked its first year amid challenges, achieving some welfare schemes but facing opposition scrutiny.

The Congress government in Telangana led by chief minister A Revanth Reddy completed one year in office on Saturday. During this, it presented a dynamic political landscape marked by significant hurdles, strategic moves, and a steady consolidation of power.

Revanth-led Cong completes one yr in office

For Revanth Reddy, it is no means a small achievement. He led the Congress from the front towards the victory in the November 30, 2023 assembly elections, defeating the nine-and-a-half years old Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government led by K Chandrasekhar Rao, who had till then been projected as “Father of Telangana,” aiming to achieve a hat-trick victory.

The victory was not gigantic – the Congress had won just 64 seats in the 119-member assembly, just four more than the absolute majority mark. Having witnessed the Congress governments with such slender margins collapsing in several parts of the country, nobody had high hopes of a stable government that would sustain for long in the state.

The opposition, especially the BRS, began making predictions that the Revanth Reddy government would collapse due to its precarious numbers and the Congress’ reputation for internal squabbles. A possible dissidence from senior leaders like Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who were the front runners for the chief minister’s chair, posed additional risks.

Compared to all these seniors, Revanth Reddy was inexperienced in administration – he had never been a minister in any cabinet in the past and straightaway became the chief minister. And so, he would naturally not get the required cooperation from his senior colleagues and support from the bureaucracy, which had been tuned to the BRS style of functioning for the last 10 years.

However, Revanth Reddy managed to transform his administration’s position from one of vulnerability to stability within a year, thanks to the support from the high command which compelled the seniors to fall in line at least for the sake of their own political survival.

Within months of coming to power, Revanth Reddy managed to overcome the threat of political insecurity by strategically securing the support of 10 BRS legislators, signalling political resilience. Additionally, his rapport with AIMIM ensured continued legislative backing. This helped the government project stability and undercut the opposition’s narrative of an impending collapse.

One of the government’s biggest challenges was managing public expectations amid a strained fiscal environment. A white paper revealed that the previous KCR administration left Telangana with ₹7 lakh crore in debt, necessitating ₹6,500 crore monthly interest payments.

Yet, Revanth Reddy made a beginning by implementing some of his six schemes promised before the elections, such as free travel for women in state-run RTC buses, supply of LPG cylinders at ₹500 for poor women and free electric power for homes below 200 units consumption.

The biggest achievement of Revanth Reddy is the implementation of crop loan waiver up to ₹2 lakh for 2.5 million farmers by spending more than ₹21,000 crore at one go. “The BRS leaders have been alleging that the crop loan waiver scheme was a hoax as it has not covered all debt-ridden farmers. But given the state’s crippled finances, waiving crop loans to the extent of over ₹21,000 crore is no mean achievement,” says political analyst and writer Mohd Zakir.

Similarly, in the last one year, the Revanth Reddy government filled up 55,143 job vacancies in various government departments. Though the recruitment process began in the fag-end of the BRS government, the credit for filling up these jobs went to Revanth Reddy.

“More than anything else, this government is open for public, unlike during the BRS regime where there was no democratic space. The people are able to come to the government to represent their grievances at Praja Palana forums. The ministers and officials are available to the people after a long time,” Zakir said.

However, Revanth Reddy’s inexperience and overambitious character has led to his government taking some hasty decisions which backfired on him. The constitution of Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRAA) to demolish illegal constructions that came up on lake beds and buffer zones has brought him a bad name within a short time.

Similarly, the announcement of Musi river rejuvenation project and hasty demolition of houses of the poor on the river bank also evoked strong protests from the people. Both the instances gave an opportunity to the opposition parties - the BRS and the BJP – to bounce back and build up anti-government sentiment among the people.

So was the case with the land acquisition proposal at Lagacharla village of Vikarabad district to construct a pharma cluster. The government had to backtrack on all these decisions, fearing resistance from the people.

“It appears, Revanth Reddy is trying to cover up his inability to implement his guarantees by creating the ‘wow factor with announcing such ambitious projects like Musi Riverfront Project, Fourth City, Skill University and Sports University,” said another political analyst Ramu Suravajjula.

Opposition recouping strength

After Revanth Reddy assumed charge as the chief minister, the BRS found itself completely on the defensive. Accusations of corruption in Kaleshwaram projects and power deals, along with the Delhi liquor scam implicating MLC K Kavitha, dented the party’s momentum. After the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, KCR went into a virtual political oblivion.

Having been pushed to the wall, the BRS has being going all out in attacking the Revanth Reddy government, taking advantage of its controversial decisions like demolition of houses, forcible evacuation of people from the Musi riverfront, land acquisition for various projects and non-implementation of many other guarantees like Rythu Bharosa, Dalit Bandhu etc.

Meanwhile, the BJP which improved its strength in the assembly elections, gained more ground in the Lok Sabha polls, securing eight seats. Enthused by the electoral success in Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP has also stepped up its agitation against the Congress government in Telangana.

The upcoming local elections in early 2025 will test Revanth Reddy’s leadership anew. The government must counter opposition campaigns while fulfilling pending promises, including appointing cabinet ministers and distributing nominated posts.

On the administrative front, the government has resolved to complete welfare measures like the Rythu Bharosa scheme, aiming to strengthen grassroots support. Strategically, the Congress is positioning itself to counter the BJP’s aggression and KCR’s potential resurgence.

The road ahead for Revanth Reddy’s government remains fraught with challenges. With mounting pressure from opposition parties and internal dissent, maintaining stability while implementing ambitious reforms will define his second year.

“Revanth Reddy’s lack of experience in governance took a heavy tool of the first year. But he is a quick learner. Hopefully he will pull up his socks to do well in the second year,” Suravajjula added.