Telangana Neta Natter | How Good Fortune Has Allied With Revanth

When fortune smiles… It does so in a manner that leaves none in doubt. Just take the case of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy who is enjoying an extraordinary run of political fortune, with the municipal elections triumph adding another chapter to his electoral journey. Continuing a streak of success since taking office in December 2023, the Congress captured more than 80 per cent of municipalities, further tightening its grip across Telangana. The real talking point emerged in two municipalities where the Congress and the BRS finished with identical vote counts. With no clear winner, election officials resorted to a draw of lots — a rarely used method. In an outcome that surprised even seasoned observers, luck favoured the Congress in both draws. The incidents triggered lively chatter in political circles, with many remarking that the Chief Minister’s political stars were at their brightest. Observers invoked the Telugu proverb “Adrustavanthudini evaru chedagottaleru, duradrustavanthudini evaru baagu cheyaluru,” suggesting rivals may simply have to wait for fortune’s tide to turn.

‘Crusader’ VVL now sups with shadowy operators

CBI former joint director V.V. Lakshminarayana, once portrayed as a crusader against corruption by some media outlets supporting the Telugu Desam, has shocked his fan base by joining a corporate conglomerate which has gained notoriety for alleged bribing of political parties for plum contracts. This company regularly gets blacklisted for short periods for poor execution of works, and yet walks away with even bigger projects. Long ago, despite glaring irregularities, the Lakshminarayana-led CBI team gave a clean chit to all those in the YSR government involved in a scam orchestrated by car giant Volkswagen's India representative. That was when YSR was alive. Post his demise, Lakshminarayana shot into the limelight following the then Congress-led Central government's decision to avenge the open defiance of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The cop, popular as ‘JD’ Lakshminarayana, quit service to "cleanse the system" and went on to give sermons to students on honesty and integrity in their college functions. He next tried his luck in electoral politics, floating a party and then joining the Jana Sena, but nothing worked. Bad luck chased his family as his wife lost Rs 2.58 crore to an online fraudster. And, the "crusader", now at the conglomerate, would be sharing office space with bureaucrats who played an invisible role in the scams of the YSR regime!

On V-Day, Congress, BJP, BRS in an affair to remember

All is fair in love and war, as the old adage goes, and this principle extends to politics, especially when Valentine’s Day comes rolling around. It was no different this year too, with political parties and leaders taking playful, but fairly serious digs at one another, especially given the heat generated in the municipal elections. Bitter rivals on most counts, the BJP, BRS, and the Congress, got down to the business of exposing each other’s ‘affairs’ with posts on social media in Telangana. Each went after the other two, with the BJP hinting at a threesome between the BRS, Congress and AIMIM, while the BRS paid back the compliments retorting that there was an unbreakable ‘Fevicol bond’ between the BJP and the Congress. The Congress, not wanting to be left behind, went to town on the love between the BRS and the BJP. As the metaphorical flowers flew on social media, the ground reality with these parties coming together in various combinations in various municipalities showed that the Valentine Day greetings may have had some message after all.

Swap shop: Rivals agree to become friends

There is apparently nothing strange about, well, bedfellows ending up on one side or the other in politics. When power beckons, it is best to channel this spirit in right earnest, as was done in Kothagudem where the Congress and the CPI, whose relationship kept turning on the dime, decided that being together may not be a bad thing at all. When it came to picking the Kothagudem Municipal Corporation mayor’s post, the two parties, which fought separately in the elections and ended up with identical wins of 22, realised they are nowhere near their goal in the 60-seat council. A marriage of convenience was entered into with the two sides agreeing to rotate power for the next five years, with one holding on to the mayor’s chair and the other the deputy mayor post and swapping them half-way through.

Errabelli meltdown with an eye on the future

Even ‘iron men’ can cry. Known for his ‘man of iron’ image, senior BRS leader Errabelli Dayakar Rao was seen shedding fairly copious tears in a plot twist rivalling melodramatic TV serials, as he hung on to the gate of the Thorrur municipality building. With the BRS and the Congress on even keel, and the latter adding two ex-officio votes, Dayakar Rao, former MLA from Palakurthy, who faced a shock defeat from newcomer Yashashwini Reddy in the last election, broke down as he was not allowed inside to see what was happening. Amid the Dayakar Rao meltdown, news emerged that the Congress had won the lucky draw. Many wondered if the former BRS MLA was genuinely heartbroken or was playing to the galleries trying to garner some public sympathy, that might come in handy for him in the future.

MIM’s Sahara Shaik wins ’em over, again

Move over, Bollywood divas — Sahara Shaik, AIMIM's fresh-faced, first-time corporator from Mumbai, is the new viral sensation. This lone warrior's BMC election win had fans agog, after her epic victory cry of "Kaisa Haraya!" exploded across social media. She jetted into Hyderabad for the AIMIM's 68th Darussalam Day, and the party office dissolved into a fan frenzy. As she stood to speak, the crowd roared: "Do it again!" and she cheekily refused, flipping the script: "You do it!" When they persisted, she shushed them with a dramatic plea: "Wait silently for two minutes." Then, the kicker — she apologised and upgraded it to "pandrah minutes!" The mob erupted in cheers, channelling Akbaruddin Owaisi's infamous Nirmal zinger about silencing the opposition. Sahara didn't just speak; she slayed — with a quip and a viral twist!

Why Vivek is fighting tooth and nail

There is something to be said about old rivalries, especially the political kind, one of which has seen minister Vivek Venkatswamy pitted against Chennur BRS former legislator Balka Suman, who he defeated in the last elections. The Kyathanpalli cliffhanger has made the small town all of a sudden into a well-known name in the state. With Chennur in the Congress bag, a tough fight unfolded in Kyathanpalli with Venkatswamy, and his son and MP Vamsi Krishna, using their ex-officio votes to fill the gap to win the crucial chairman and vice-chairman positions in the Kyathanpalli election which has been postponed twice so far. With the Congress famous for its ‘internal democracy’, a win in Kyathanpalli has all of a sudden turned into a battle for the minister. If he wins the town, can stave off some unsavoury challenges that might be lingering on the horizon.

Jeevan’s marathon run gets longer

Former minister and one-time Congress strongman in Jagtial, T. Jeevan Reddy, who has been admitted to a hospital following a bit of food-poisoning, has also been running on the proverbial political treadmill. No matter how hard he runs, nothing seems to change for him within the party, and he is reportedly disheartened by the rival faction getting the chairperson’s post in Jagtial. His battle with local MLA M. Sanjay Kumar, also from the same party, and the repeated complaints of being humiliated, with allegations that a newcomer to the Congress, that too from the BRS, being given power over long-time party loyalists notwithstanding, Jeevan Reddy for now is said have decided to stay on within the Congress though nothing seems so grand for him anymore within the Grand Old Party.

Who will teach a cop the rules?

In what could well be a serious pointer on how things will go, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes is apparently making a point during its visit to Kodad. The commission was investigating the alleged lock-up death of K. Rajesh in the Kodad police station and wanted to know why Suryapet superintendent of police K. Narasimha chose to suspend the inspector instead of the SI who was the station house officer for the police station where the incident occurred. Dissatisfied with the response, commission member Vaddepalli Ramchander asked the SP if he was an IPS officer or was conferred the status. After being informed he was a promotee to the IPS, Ramchander said an IPS officer would know the Constitution, leading to some uncomfortable moments for the SP. In the process, it raised the prospect of the lack of preparedness of promotees to handle the task at hand as per the book.

Contributions from L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Mrittika Banerjee, N. Vamsi Srinivas, Md Nizamuddin, Neeraj Kumar, Puli Sharath Kumar, P. Srinivas, Sanjay Samuel Paul, Pillalamarri Srinivas, Mouli Mareedu, Balu Pulipaka