After quitting TRS, MP Vishweshwar Reddy set to start new innings with Congress

Vishweshwar-Reddy-gandhi-pti Congress President Rahul Gandhi shakes hands with Telangana MP K. Vishweshwar Reddy, a day after resigning from the TRS, in Medchal on Wednesday | PTI

Internal rift in the party and growing anti-incumbency sentiment in the state forced Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy to quit the party, less than a fortnight before the elections. An engineer-cum-entrepreneur, Reddy submitted his resignation letter to the party on Tuesday. He has also announced that he will resign from the parliament after serving as the MP of Chevella constituency for four-and-half years. On Wednesday, he met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi leaving no room for speculation regarding his future plans.

It would be a homecoming of sorts for Reddy when he officially joins Congress. His paternal grandfather, Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy was a freedom fighter and a Congress leader, who went on to become the deputy chief minister of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. In past interviews, he had shared that he was influenced by the political ideology of his grandfather and his contemporaries. Before entering politics, Reddy was a big name in the world of business as he worked for companies like Wipro and GE. He also holds patents for products in the field of healthcare. He is married to Sangitha Reddy, executive director of Apollo Hospitals.

For many in Chevella constituency, his resignation did not come as a surprise. The United States educated Reddy, who is soft-spoken with a pleasing personality, was trying hard to get a grip over the party grassroots in his constituency. Another senior leader from the party, Mahender Reddy, who served as a minister was successful in establishing his domination in his constituency and the neighbouring ones which fall under the Chevella parliament constituency. Mahender Reddy is known to be a mass leader unlike Vishweshwar Reddy.

The breaking point was when Vishweshwar Reddy tried to lobby for tickets for two candidates close to him for the upcoming assembly elections. His attempts did not yield results because of internal politics. A few weeks ago, his close aides K.S. Ratnam and Pilot Rohit Reddy jumped to the Congress and managed to get tickets. According to the Congress party sources, an understanding was reached between the Congress high command and Vishweshwar Reddy to accommodate his followers if he joins the party. It is now more or less clear that Vishweshwar Reddy will be the Congress party's candidate in the parliament elections in 2019.

The TRS got a rude shock with Reddy's move since just two days back, K.T. Rama Rao, TRS leader and son of acting chief minister K.C. Chandrasekhar Rao, managed to convince him not to take any drastic step. After the meeting, Reddy told media persons that he doesn’t not have any intentions to leave the party. But it is clear that the pressure tactic of the Congress party to deliver a major blow to the TRS just before elections has worked out.

Did the anti-incumbency wave prompted Reddy to take this decision? Most likely, yes. At least in his constituency, the general impression was that he could not deliver as expected. According to locals, the villages could not be transformed as promised. This, together with the prevailing anti-incumbency of the ruling party, could have spelled a death knell for the MP. Also, Reddy was not happy since he did not have much say in his constituency in the party affairs, which made him a weak leader in the area.

In his video message released soon after the resignation, Reddy said that the distance between the party and people is growing. The TRS party got back immediately at Reddy criticising him for making the most of his position while in power and quitting before elections for personal gains.

According to political analysts, it is a wise move by Reddy; his winning chances are more in the Congress with the support of its allies like the TDP and two other parties. Being an MP of a national party is better than being an MP of a regional party, they say, especially since the Congress is trying its best to come to power in 2019.