Elections 2024: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy's focus on home seat unwavering
HYDERABAD: By the end of campaigning, it was very clear that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s focus on his home turf, the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha constituency, has been unwavering, reminding citizens of the popular Telugu adage “Win at home before conquering other territories”.
Revanth had made frequent visits to Mahbubnagar to bolster the prospects of his party candidate CH Vamshi Chand Reddy. In contrast, the chief minister has not addressed even a single public meeting in Nalgonda Lok Sabha segment.
Interestingly, the chief minister accorded similar attention to the Chevella and Malkajgiri constituencies.
Of his 53 campaign meetings in the state, including public rallies, street corner meetings and roadshows, Revanth addressed at total of 23 public meetings in Mahbubnagar, Malkajgiri and Chevella. He also visited his Assembly constituency, Kodangal which falls under Mahbubnagar LS seat, at least a couple of times, the last being on April 6.
It may be mentioned here that Revanth had represented Malkajgiri in Parliament from 2019 till he resigned just before being sworn in as the chief minister in 2023.
It is pertinent to note that Revanth, one of the star campaigners of the Congress, attended a total of 58 public rallies in Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka in this period — April 6 to May 11. Even on May 11, the chief minister attended two street corner meetings covering the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha constituency.
Revanth’s detractors argue that through his speeches, it appears that the Mahbubnagar seat, which was initially perceived to be a cakewalk for Congress, has become a challenge.
Cautionary tone
In his sharp and witty speeches, Revanth has appealed to the constituents that if something goes wrong in Mahbubnagar, his political opponents would blame him. He went on to caution the people that Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, Narayanpet - Kodangal project, several irrigation projects, and railway lane will not materialise if the Congress candidate loses the election.
Incidentally, the chief minister focused on five constituencies — Mahbubnagar, Chevella, Bhongir, Zaheerabad and Malkajgiri — in which he alleged that BRS was transferring its vote to the BJP in lieu of bail for BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha in Delhi liquor scam.
With the chief minister investing all his resources, it is the voter who would decide the fate of Mahbubnagar and Chevella candidates where the BJP is the other party in the race.
Everywhere except Nalgonda
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy did not canvass in Nalgonda constituency even once in the 35 days of peak campaigning. However, Congress in-charge for the Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, exudes confidence of winning the constituency with the highest majority in the state, if not the country. At the crucial juncture where Revanth also campaigned in other southern states, his skipping Nalgonda has raised eyebrows.