Telangana: Top challenges for Revanth Reddy
Hyderabad: With the Telangana Formation Day on 2 June 2026 officially signalling half-time for the Revanth Reddy-led government in the state, the chief minister and his 15-member cabinet have under 30 months to implement large-scale development projects and complete the rollout of the six welfare schemes that were guaranteed in 2023.
Among the victories for the Congress government, the free Road Transport Corporation (RTC) bus scheme for women across the state and the successful completion of the socio-economic, education, employment, and political survey rank high. With the other five guarantees partially implemented, sources in the government told ThePrint that the chief minister is looking to push the rollout the schemes over the next two years, using the survey outcomes as the basis.
For Revanth Reddy, his leader Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, the caste census, famously referred to as an ‘X-Ray’ of society, was marketed as the foundation for the next phase of social justice in India. With Rahul Gandhi viewing it as an essential tool to address deep-rooted inequalities, ensure fair representation, and reshape public policy, Revanth’s ingenuity and success in creating effective and fair welfare policies centred around the unrepresented sections of society, could prove to be a model for other Congress-ruled states such as Karnataka, where the socio-economic survey has yielded little.
The success of the Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political, and Caste Survey (SEEEPC)-based development could be the springboard for Rahul Gandhi in the 2029 general election.
Restraining his cabinet colleagues from exercising their personal and political power and reigning in errant party leaders who initially opposed his meteoric rise are counted as Revanth’s personal victories in his largely self-made political career since he joined the Congress in 2017. With the deputy chief minister, industries and commerce, and irrigation ministers all belonging to a different vintage, Revanth’s first year in office was spent largely learning how to administer, senior bureaucrats shared.
Importance of the ‘Praja Palana’ programme
Prof Nageshwar, a former MLC who also taught at Osmania University, pointed out that amidst all the criticism over the guarantees, the ‘Praja Palana’ (Abhayahastam) governance programme helped people identify the Congress and Revanth Reddy as their welfare champions.
“A political party’s essential job is that of identification… identifying with the people’s grievances and aspirations. With Praja Palana, Revanth has made the voter believe the government understands them and is on their side,” he said.
In March, Revanth Reddy launched the ’99-day Praja Palana–Pragathi Pranalika’, to accelerate development and welfare schemes in the state. It was also a platform where people could come and air their grievances about the government’s functioning and its schemes.
Although many of Revanth Reddy’s ideas look like a replica of his mentor and Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu, political observers said. Even Congress old-timers, who were part of the late chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s cabinet, unenthusiastically agree that Revanth’s non-confrontational approach towards the Centre has helped him score the right political goals.
In contrast to former chief minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) founder K. Chandrashekar Rao, who prided himself on not adhering to state protocol, Revanth has always toed the line when the Prime Minister visited Hyderabad.
Politics vs administration
Senior Congress leader and former MP K. Keshava Rao told ThePrint: “Very early, Revanth learnt to distinguish politics from administration. Here, he follows Naidu’s model of cooperative federalism rather than confrontational partisanship. If the Centre has not been interfering in his governance, he sees no reason to be antagonistic. He understands that development is his concern; the developmental projects could come from the Centre.”
This explains why most of the government’s schemes have been centred around welfare and little on capital expenditure. However, much like his neighbours in the South, finances are the greatest predicament.
The Congress government that swept the Telangana election and came to power in December 2023, was carrying an outstanding public debt of Rs 3.50 lakh crore, with the broader state liabilities and guarantees amounting to Rs 3.89 lakh crore as per the Reserve Bank of India and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
The government has announced medium and large-scale irrigation projects such as the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme, Prahanita-Chevella lift irrigation scheme, and the Sita Rama lift irrigation scheme, among others, totalling around Rs 1 lakh crore, but they are at various stages of completion.
‘He knows his limitations’
“Revanth knows his limitations, given the weak state of finances. However, the Congress party’s guarantee-powered governments across Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana have allowed little scope for them to focus on development and development projects,” Prof Kodandaram, current MLC, who played an active role in the Telangana movement, told ThePrint.
The 200 units of free electricity, social pensions of Rs 4,000 for senior citizens (Cheyutha), an enhanced Ayograsri health scheme, and Indiramma Illu (houses) for the poor are being implemented in phases due to financial constraints. But the Rajiv Yiva Vikasam scheme, which provides unemployed youth from marginalised communities with subsidised loans up to Rs 3-4 lakh to start self-employment ventures, remains sluggish, as does the 119 integrated schools for students from all backgrounds.
If the bleak fiscal report caused a few dips and delays in the rollout, the West Asia war brought additional challenges to state governments, with Telangana being no exception. The Mahalakshmi scheme, which promised to supply an LPG cylinder for Rs 500 to women holding a white ration card, hit a hurdle because of the LPG shortage. Ministers reported widespread concerns from districts where the state government’s subsidy share has been delayed, forcing beneficiaries to pay the full price of the cylinder upfront. The funds are meant to be credited via direct benefit transfer (DBT).
And herein lies Revanth Reddy’s biggest challenge in the coming two-and-a-half years.
Revanth Reddy’s top challenges
Five of the key political, development, and welfare priorities to watch out for in Revanth Reddy’s 30-month rule include: Finding funds for the Bharat Future City (BFC) project, the Musi River Rejuvenation and Development project, Phase 2 of the metro rail, and the regional ring road projects (RRR)—all ambitious projects, whose completion could enhance Brand Revanth as a visionary and put him in the league of former chief ministers Chandrababu Naidu and K. Chandrashekhar Rao.
Developing Tier-II cities (like Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam, and Nizamabad) in Telangana is vital for decentralising economic growth, reducing immense infrastructural pressure on Hyderabad, and curbing rural-to-urban migration. For the chief minister to expand his affirmative action and redistribute wealth among the Dalits, Adivasis, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), wealth creation needs to happen in district capitals rather than in Hyderabad.
He also has to made do with the scarce financial resources to implement the six guarantees, which cost over Rs 50,000 crore annually. An impartial rollout of houses and farm loan waivers, and crop insurance cost the BRS government a third consecutive term.
Revanth Reddy also has to repair his relationship with the minorities in Telangana, who constantly allege that the community has not been adequately represented in the panchayats, municipalities, and other boards where the CM’s coterie has found favour. The Congress did well in rural areas because the minority voted en masse for the party, shifting their loyalties from the BRS.
Another challenge will be to map an economic plan for the development of Telangana, based on the outcome revealed by the 2025 SEEEPC survey. The Congress promised 2 lakh jobs when it came to power in 2023, and more than 60,000 applicants await enrollment into government jobs.
Lastly, Revanth Reddy will have to check the quiet rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the BRS, which are highlighting the Congress government’s failures and the fissures in the cabinet to regroup their scattered cadres. A weak, fragmented Opposition could be the Congress party’s best ask politically.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: After Bengal, Telangana is BJP’s next target. How it’s laying ground to flip Congress-ruled state
