Revanth-led Cong govt completes 2 years, but challenges galore

The Congress government in Telangana has just completed two years in office. In the Assembly polls that were held on November 30, 2023, the Telangana Congress, led by Anumula Revanth Reddy as its president, rode to victory with 64 seats in the 119-seat Assembly. Along the way, Congress unseated the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), a regional party led by two-term Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, which saw its tally falling by more than 50 per cent to 39. Though the poll results were declared on December 3, Revanth Reddy assumed charge as the Chief Minister on December 7, 2023.

Given his undisputed role in the victory of Congress, the party’s national leadership had no other option except repose faith in him despite internal opposition from a section of senior leaders. Further, he secured chief ministerial position despite never ever having been a minister. That way, Revanth Reddy began his innings as the Chief Minister on a challenging note. Despite that, he went ahead and did what he wanted to do. Decisions like cancelling Hyderabad Pharma City and using the same land to launch Bharat Future City and the launch of Hyderabad Disaster Management and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) to protect lakes and other government lands, fall into that category. So is also the Musi riverfront development project. In yet another major decision, the state government took over Hyderabad Metro Rail from infra major L&T group, which was desperate to exit from the project.

On the political front also, he has emerged stronger in the last two years. There was considerable speculation that a big political change would take place in the state around the time when the government turns two. But the Congress high command is unlikely to touch Revanth Reddy for the next three years.

In recent years, Congress has explicitly shown its reluctance to change chief ministers in the states where it is in power. The grand old party stuck to this stand despite pulls and pressures – be it in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and to some extent, Karnataka. So, I don’t think it will be any different in Telangana. Moreover, Revanth Reddy strengthened his political position after a stupendous victory in the recent Jubilee Hills bypoll. Why will Congress meddle with its winning horse in Telangana? For that matter, Congress needs such leaders in other states for it to come to power at the Centre.

But how did Revanth fare on the administration front? His government started paying salaries to the government staff on time. That’s a good move, but he needs to do a lot on the administration front. Acute fund crunch is another big challenge for him. Of course, the previous BRS government left behind a debt burden of over Rs seven lakh crore. But enormous delay in clearing pending bills worth thousands of crores and pending dues of fee reimbursement scheme, is showing the government in poor light. There is also a need to rein in widespread corruption. The government should also focus more on attracting investments.

Further, despite implementing several high-value promises like farm loan waiver, Rythu Bharosa (partly), free bus travel for women, fine rice distribution through PDS and free power to households that consume less than 200 units, people don’t seem to be fully satisfied with the Congress regime. Farming community is not happy because they feel the government’s handling of the agriculture sector is shoddy. They point out how it mishandled the urea crisis earlier this year. They are also of the view that the government is not taking post-harvest management of the key sector seriously. It is a big challenge for the Revanth Reddy government to improve its image among the farmers. Besides, farm loan waivers and Rythu Bharosa schemes, which between them need massive funds, are increasingly turning out to be albatross around the government’s neck. Unless the government takes a realistic view of these two schemes and goes for a pragmatic approach, it’s going to be a Herculean task for the government to put its finances in order and aim for high economic growth, which is paramount to generate revenues for the welfare schemes. Apart from farmers, many other sections of people are also not happy, as of now.

The real estate sector, one of the key revenue-generating sources for the state government, is in doldrums, to say the least. Hyderabad’s real estate sector started heading towards the slow lane after the high-profile land auction by Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) in August 2023. In that auction, Rajapushpa Properties, owned by those close to the then BRS government, bought land at an exorbitantly high price of Rs 100 crore per acre in Neopolis area. Was it stage-managed? Till then, Hyderabad’s real estate market was known for its affordability factor. That auction made properties in the city out of bounds for common people. The subsequent elections for state Assembly in November 2023 and Lok Sabha six months later in 2024 also left an adverse impact on the city’s property market, which is yet to recover from the prolonged slump. The recent land auctions by HMDA and Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TGIIC) might further aggravate the situation in the real estate market. The unlimited Floor Space Index (FSI) norm, which allows limitless construction on lands in Hyderabad, is also turning out to be a bane for the city. Unless the real estate market in the city is revived, it is very unlikely that Telangana’s economy will gain the requisite steam.

Besides, opposition parties obviously pose a challenge to Congress in the state if it wants to retain power. Despite defeat in the 2023 Assembly polls, humiliating loss in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the recent Jubilee Hills bypoll, BRS is still a strong political force in Telangana. Though KCR has more or less confined himself to his farmhouse, his son KT Rama Rao, the party’s working president, is striving to strengthen the party. So, BRS will obviously leave no stone unturned to defeat Congress in the next elections. On its part, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power at the Centre and in most of the states, will also not stay subdued. It will try its best to emerge as a challenger to the throne though that looks a far cry, as of now.

This apart, the Chief Minister’s newly developed disdain for mainstream media and journalists is surprising. Further, the Congress government’s attitude towards the mainstream media is appalling and unheard of in the past few decades. Does the national party’s leadership believe that it can take the media and issues they raise for granted? It looks so. Hopefully, this will change.

Besides, the Congress government is yet to implement its key poll promise of doubling old-age pensions and other social security payouts. So also the promise to pay monthly financial support to women. The government should find ways to implement these promises. It should also address the issue of pending bills to contractors and others. Liquidity situation will not improve much in the economy if the government doesn’t clear such bills. That way, the Revanth Reddy government has its task cut out. Unless the Chief Minister handles all the issues dexterously and improves the government’s image in the coming two years, it’s not going to be easy for him and his party to retain power in 2028 or whenever Assembly elections are held next.

Revanth Reddy proved skeptics wrong by running a stable government for the last two years. But the next two years will be crucial for him and the Congress in Telangana to get a second consecutive term. That’s the reality.