Revanth Reddy acts smart, calls it quits

​Hyderabad: Firebrand Congress leader A Revanth Reddy, who had defected from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), in a one-upmanship move over Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's decision to dissolve the State Assembly, resigned as MLA on Thursday. Revanth Reddy, elected twice on TDP ticket in 2009 and 2014, shifted his loyalties to the Congress in October 2017. 

A maverick politician, Revanth Reddy submitted his resignation letter as an MLA in the Speaker's format just hours before the State Assembly was dissolved as recommended by the Chief Minister to the Governor following a resolution by the State Cabinet earlier. Armed with his resignation letter in the proper format, Revanth Reddy, tried to personally meet and handover the same to Speaker Madhusudhan Chary on the Assembly premises. However, if he could not meet the Speaker, he was planning to submit the same to the Legislature Secretary.

Revanth Reddy's sudden decision to quit his Assembly membership caused ripples in political circles. It is stated that his move was intended to gain a political brownie point over Chandrashekar Rao by himself resigning rather than become a former member of the Assembly once it is dissolved. It might be recalled here that Revanth Reddy as TDP MLA was involved in the infamous ‘cash for vote’ scandal during MLC elections.