Post-Assembly Rout, Actress Vijaya Shanthi Steals Spotlight from Cong’s Rising Star Revanth Reddy

Hyderabad: Following a humiliating defeat in the assembly election, the Congress has decided to woo its voters in Telangana for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls with a touch of glamour.

The grand old party, in a bid to regain its turf, has appointed popular Telegu actress and former MP Vijaya Shanthi (52) as the chairperson for the party’s campaign committee.

The veteran actress, also sometimes called the ‘lady Amitabh’ for many of the strong roles she played in films, will take over from Revanth Reddy, who failed to retain his own seat, Kodangal, during the December assembly election, in which the Congress won 21 of the 119 constituencies.

Reddy, who is one of the working presidents of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), had campaigned aggressively during the assembly election.

He had toured around the state in a hired helicopter and addressed several meetings with emotionally charged speeches.

He even tried to project himself as the party’s chief ministerial candidate, but nothing helped.

Following his defeat, Reddy claimed the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) used a lot of money and muscle power to target him.

Though no senior Congress functionary has spoken ill against him, Reddy is reportedly upset by the latest developments.

His supporters are of the opinion the party ignored his contribution and side-lined him in a bid to bring Shanthi in the forefront.

Meanwhile, Reddy is preparing ground to secure a party ticket for himself from the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha constituency.

“We are working hard to win the maximum number of Parliamentary seats to serve people. Leadership is not the concern. It is a collective responsibility,” Addanki Dayakar, TPCC’s official spokesperson, told News 18.

Shanthi, who had played a key role in the Telangana movement, has a tough task in hand.

After staying away from mainstream politics for a while, she had campaigned for Congress candidates during the assembly election, but was unable to turn the tide in her party’s favour.

With less than 100 days to go for the general elections, she has to ensure maximum number of seats for her party against a very confident TRS, which had a clean sweep in the recent state election.

Shanthi had started a party named ‘Talli Telangana’, but merged it with TRS. In 2009, she was elected as an MP from Medak. She then joined hands with the Congress in 2014, and contested from the Medak assembly seat, where she faced defeat.