Giant Slayer: Who is BJP's KV Ramana Reddy, who beat KCR, Revanth Reddy in Telangana?

After over a decade, India’s youngest state Telangana is all set for a change in power.

As per the latest trends, the Congress won 67 seats against the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s (BRS) 36, the first time since its formation in 2014.

However, in Kamareddy, an assembly constituency located nearly 177 kilometers north of Hyderabad, a surprising drama has unfolded.

In the constituency, where both BRS boss K Chandrasekhar Rao and state Congress chief A Revanth Reddy had thrown their hats, a third candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy has won the race.

KV Ramana Reddy slipped to the top with 50,294 votes, followed by KCR who secured 46,780 votes. Revanth Reddy is trailing with 45,419 votes.

Who is KV Ramana Reddy?

A businessman by profession, Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy is a Class 12-pass out and completed his Intermediate in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry from Government Junior College in Kamareddy in 1985-1986, reported News18.

Despite never having attended college, the 53-year-old has accumulated a sizeable wealth.

According to his election affidavit, his total declared assets are Rs 49.7 crore, which include Rs 2.2 crore in moveable assets and Rs 47.5 crore as immoveable assets, according to the election affidavit.

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His total declared income is Rs 9.8 lakh of which Rs 4.9 lakh is self-income. Ramana Reddy has total liabilities of Rs 58.3 lakh.

There are 11 criminal cases registered against him, according to News18.

His election campaign

Ramana Reddy was once with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now BRS). He later jumped the ship to join the BJP.

Referring to KCR and Revanth Reddy ahead of the polls, Ramana Reddy had famously said that buses from Kamareddy depot will stay in Kamareddy and buses from Gajwel and Kodangal depots will go to their respective depots.

In Gajwel, the incumbent Chief Minister is winning, while in Kodangal, Revanth Reddy is in the lead.

According to Times Now, Ramana Reddy’s campaign highlighted that KCR and Revanth Reddy both were non-locals. He said during an election campaign, “I was born here, I grew up here, I will stay with you till my death.” According to him, voting for a non-local person was equal to “drowning.”

Earlier, in an interview with The New Indian Express, he had also stated that he did not consider KCR as his “formidable opponent.”

“I am not facing him; he is facing me by contesting in the Kamareddy Assembly constituency. I don’t see him as a formidable opponent. I am contesting in a regular manner without feeling any pressure. The election is insignificant compared to my goals, and I am ready to sacrifice my property for the people.”

The constituency

Assembly constituency number 16 Kamareddy is a part of the 5. Zahirabad (General) Lok Sabha (Parliamentary) constituency, which falls into one of two categories: Rural and General.

The Delimitation Commission’s 2008 report states that the estimated population of Scheduled Castes in Kamareddy Assembly constituency is 14.73 per cent, while the estimated population of Scheduled Tribes is 4.67 per cent. According to the 2011 Census of India, the district this constituency is located in is predicted to have a literacy rate of 48.49 per cent.

There were 2,45,822 eligible voters in the constituency for the Telangana Assembly elections of 2023; 1,18,718 of them were men, 1,27,080 were women, and 24 registered voters identified as members of the third gender.

With 42 per cent of the vote, Gampa Govardhan of the then-TRS was able to hold onto his seat as Kamareddy’s MLA in the 2018 assembly elections. By a two per cent margin, he had defeated Mohammad Ali Shabbir of the Congress.

BJP’s resounding victory in three states

As of 5.45 pm, BJP was leading in 167 of Madhya Pradesh's 230 seats, 114 of Rajasthan's 199 seats and 55 of Chhattisgarh's 90 seats.

Since each of these numbers is greater than the state’s majority threshold, the BJP will be able to form governments there on its own.

“We bow to the Janta Janardan,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while expressing gratitude to the people of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for their “unwavering support.”

We bow to the Janta Janardan.

The results in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan indicate that the people of India are firmly with politics of good governance and development, which the @BJP4India stands for.

I thank the people of these states for their unwavering…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 3, 2023

“The results in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan indicate that the people of India are firmly with politics of good governance and development, which the BJP stands for,” PM Modi said, while assuring that the party will “keep working tirelessly for their well-being.”