Revanth Reddy and challenges ahead

 

Revanth Reddy and challenges ahead

That  Revanth Reddy is going great guns despite the fact the Congress party has won with a low margin and the frontal attack launched by the BRS on the one side and by the central government on the other, latter thanks to the fourth coming lok sabha elections. This undoubtedly shows the fighting spirit in him having risen, sphinx like,from the ashes of vote for note debacle. For this he deserves Kudos.

He is standing his ground and fufilled 4 of the six major promises made. He is going on the right track on this count.

But does it in any way reflect a new way as compared to the BRS during its first and second stints. 

When BRS came to power, it concentrated on huge projects involving thousands and thousands of crores and most of them relate to constructions in the form of irrigation projects, construction of double bed room apartments, Gurukul schools and expansion of infrastructure for the industrial centres, rythu bazars, integrated district administrative buildings coupled with recruitment into govt jobs most of which were actually in the police department and of course the holy grail welfarism.

With regard to the appointments, Revanth Reddy's first appointments were again in the police department. He is following BRS suite through promise of huge investments that stradle across the state level to mandal level or at least to the legislative assembly level such as to construct Tummidihetty project, complete the Palamuru Ranga Reddy project, new,  High court building, integrated social welfare hostels in each mandal or district. 

The notable difference in Revanti Reddy reign is free bus travel and sanction of free funds for construction of houses to the land owners, the second of which was a huge success in Kerala.

All these constructions offer handsome opportunities for party cadre from the top to the bottom to the mandal level to make hay while the sun shines. Deliberate and uncontrolled exploitation by this cadre in implementation was the undoing of the BRS. 

While the implementation of the four promises like provision of free bus travel to women, gas subsidy, exemption of electricity charges up to 200 units etc form a small percentage of not more than 30% of the total outlay required to fullfil the 6 promises. But the remaining promises require 70% of the estimate which is going to be the toughest challenge the incumbent government will face given its precarious financial position. And both these affect largest chunks of voters like farmers. 

The initial bonhomi that he is displaying with the centre and centre's visible extension of helping hand in sanctioning permissions for RRR and to allow defence land in cantonment area for construction of  overhead road up to Shamirpet and the willigness of Revanth Reddy government to use the Prime Minister's centrally sponsored programs for farmers though appear to be in the right earnest, they seem to portend some Shinde like betrayal as rightly suspected by KTR in the recent news. 

Though the cabinet is well balanced with berths for all  representing communities and  cabinet colleagues not attributing every new policy initiative to Revanth Reddy as  was done during BRS government when even a small village development was always portayed as KCR's boon. This betrays two things:  firstly that there is internal democracy and secondly internal  deliberate arrangement not to promote one person as the visible face of the party which seems to be working everywhere in the country particularly at the national level in the face of Modi as it was in the case of KCR earlier. It also gives rise to the suspicion that it is an attempt at cushioning of rivalry for the top post from breaking at seams.

Unlike in the past, the sitting MPS and MLA's this time are shifting to both BJP and Congress. Earlier it was only to BRS the winning horse. The  highly tomtommed foregone conclusion that BJP will again come to power at the center seems to be playing the trick for this kind of expression of loyalties probably encouraged by the internal sabotage by the Congress members in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and failed attempt in Rajastan engineered by the BJP which seems to be the cause for this open threats of surgical strikes and air strikes. 

Surgical strike was actually a retaliatory word. So Modi seems to be referring that the loss of Karnataka might be the blow the BJP received and upending the Congress government in Telangana could be with retailiary surgical strike. But what is aerial strike? It is becoming very difficult to decrypt it, representing the brahmastra of Modi which the opposition is finding hard to identify leave alone find a counter weapon.

In any case, the forth coming Lok Sabha elections are going to prove the loyalty of the people. Until then, political games will remain like the nerve racking Cricket game in world cup finals whose win depends on making more runs in half the remaining balls. 

But one thing is certain: who betters the tally when compared to earlier hustings in the Lok Assembly elections will have the upperhand in the future political atmosphere in the State. If Revanth Reddy manages to cross the winning line this time, he will go a long long way. The fighter deserves cheering. 

Dr M H Prasad Rao