Hyderabad: The Congress' decent performance in the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana has bolstered the image and influence of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy within the party and the government and with the party high command.
Party sources said that Reddy, also the TPCC chief, led the party's campaigning for Lok Sabha elections from the front and helped the party script its best-ever performance since Telangana’s formation in 2014 by winning eight seats. This will silence BJP and BRS, which have repeatedly expressed doubts about the survival of the Revanth Reddy government.
Party sources say that the high command is expected to give a free hand to Reddy for a Cabinet expansion and in the appointment of nominated posts in the government.
They hope that the Congress showing will not only give stability to his government but also strengthen it in the coming days given the likelihood of BRS legislators switching over to the ruling party. Three of the 39 BRS MLAs have joined the Congress, which also wrested the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat from the BRS in a by-election.
Party circles hope that at least 25 BRS MLAs will join the Congress and merge the BRSLP with the CLP since BRS has drawn a blank in the LS polls.
The Congress won all its eight seats with a thumping majority, with the highest being over 5.75 lakh votes in Nalgonda, said to be a record for the current polls. In all other seats, its majority ranges from one lakh to five lakh.
However, the defeats in Malkajgiri, his former constituency, and Mahbubnagar, his native district where his Assembly constituency is located, have come as a big setback for Revanth Reddy.
Reddy was the only star campaigner for the Congress in the state and canvassed in all the 17 seats. His Cabinet colleagues and senior party leaders were confined to their respective districts or constituencies. His rhetoric against the BJP and the BRS appeared to have bolstered the prospects of Congress candidates.
In between, RevanthReddy also campaigned in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka for the party candidates.
Incidentally, he participated in 57 election rallies and road shows since April 6.
