BRS ran a spirited campaign in Jubilee Hills yet lost by a huge margin of 25,000 votes. The defeat shook the entire BRS ecosystem and left the leadership confused about what went wrong despite their aggressive efforts.
Among several reasons being discussed, KTR is also being seen as a factor in the Jubilee Hills loss. Throughout his roadshows, he kept saying that a BRS victory in Jubilee Hills would send Revanth Reddy home, implying the Congress High Command would replace the Chief Minister.
BRS circles also pushed the narrative that Rahul Gandhi was refusing appointments for Revanth Reddy. Political experts say this may have worked in Revanth’s favour, as people did not want instability when the Government was not even halfway through its term.
If Revanth Reddy were removed now, it would create a musical chairs situation within Congress seniors, leading to internal fights. People still remember how the Congress High Command picked leaders like Rosaiah and Kiran Kumar Reddy during the peak of the Telangana agitation. Voters did not want that chaos again.
The Congress win strengthened Revanth Reddy’s position within the party. Senior leaders and Ministers did not campaign enough in Jubilee Hills, so the entire credit went to Revanth Reddy, who led the charge aggressively. This win is a major boost for the ruling party ahead of the local and GHMC elections.
Revanth Reddy has now taken two BRS seats after the 2023 elections — Cantonment and Jubilee Hills. Both fall under the GHMC area, where Congress failed to win even one seat in 2023, which makes the victories even more remarkable.
If Revanth Reddy becomes more aggressive and calls for the Local elections soon, the BRS will face a tough challenge. He would want to finish those elections before the BRS cadre recover from this shock.
