Giant-killer Ramana Reddy slays KCR, Revanth

Kamareddy: In what can be termed as Super Sunday’s biggest blockbuster, the BJP’s Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy became the 2023 Telangana state Assembly elections’ giant killer, scalping both Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and CM-in-waiting A. Revanth Reddy at Kamareddy. Giving his campaign a significant push was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election meeting in Kamareddy.

Ramana Reddy secured 66,652 votes, including postal ballots, defeating Rao by 6,741 votes. Revanth Reddy finished third with 54,916 votes, although he was leading in the initial rounds of counting.  

Ramana Reddy’s father Katipally Raji Reddy was a Kamareddy panchayat samiti president.

A former Nizamabad district zilla parishad chairman of the Congress, Ramana Reddy joined the BJP but lost the 2018 election. He tended the constituency and prepared the ground for his election, riding on the anti-incumbency wave against BRS legislator Gampa Govardhan and senior Congress leader Mohammad Ali Shabbir.

It was a strategy that paid off on Sunday. In the last three years, he approached various caste organisations and extended help. He supplied cement, sand, concrete, and iron for the construction and repairs of temples in various villages.

In a unique style, apart from that of the BJP, he also released his manifesto to attract the voters. The seat became a prestigious battleground after Rao and Revanth Reddy entered the fray.

Incidentally, what swung the issue for Ramana Reddy and proved the clincher was the general opinion that a win for Rao or Revanth Reddy meant an early byelection.