Latest revision as of 08:24, 14 April 2021

[edit] YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS

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Robin David, April 11, 2021: The Times of India

Money begets power and power begets more money. Or at least that is what traditional logic says. But one of India’s richest politicians — Konda Vishweshwar Reddy— is now without party. He had joined TRS in 2013 and left it in 2018. He then joined Congress and left it last month. He is now hoping to launch a new political outfit in Telangana.

He was the richest MP in the country between 2014 and 2019 with assets worth Rs 528 crore after he won from Chevella in Telangana. He was the second-richest candidate in the 2019 elections with assets of Rs 895 crore. He lost the election that year on a Congress ticket.

He has political legacy too. He is the grandson of Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy, former deputy chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh after whom the Ranga Reddy district has been named. And today, he is living in a world of contradictions. He is in the process of bringing small regional outfits together on one platform to create one mega regional party in Telangana. But he himself does not want to be involved in state politics. He prefers being Telangana’s representative in the Lok Sabha. He does not mind being called the ‘richest MP’ and ‘richest candidate’, but he cringes when you call him a rich businessman. Husband of Apollo Hospitals MD Sangita Reddy, he says, “I would like to be known as an academic, entrepreneur and researcher instead.” But being called a rich politician is beneficial in some ways. “Initially, I was concerned (about being called rich),” he says. “They would think, arey, ine paise wala hai. Ine aam admi ki samaysa jaante nai, and all that (He is a rich man. How will he understand the problems of the poor),” he says with a touch of Hyderabadi Dakhni. “But to my shock, it helped me a lot (in 2014). People started saying he is a paisewala (rich). He does not need to take bribes and is a potential winner. And by the way, I am the richest only on paper. Almost every MP in Telangana is richer than me. These people can buy me over 20-30 times. I pay taxes, they don’t.”

State politics is like “wrestling with the pig in the mud” and he accepts that perhaps he is not cut out for it. “The level of politics is lower in assemblies. At least in Parliament, no one throws chappals at each other.”He admits that one needs to be a bit of a street fighter in state politics. “I am different. I entered politics in 2013 when I was 53. So, I am often thinking of things other than politics.” For instance, Reddy, who has a number of patents and copyrights to his name, adds that even at this moment he is working on a unique rice transplanting machine.

Despite his dislike for the rough and tumble for state politics, he has taken the initiative of bringing regional parties including Telangana Jana Samithi, Telangana Inti Party and independents like Teenmar Mallana together. He says a unified regional outfit could take on TRS effectively and does not rule out joining hands with the BJP or Congress in the future. “We will also bring together some people from Congress and TRS. They are looking for a viable alternative.”

On why he wants to form a new outfit, he says, “In any national party, decisions have to go to the central leadership. Look at the Congress. By the time they understand the problem, report it to the central leadership, find a solution and discuss it democratically, someone like a KCR (chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao) has changed things.”