A Calculated Gambit: How Revanth Reddy Turned the Kaleshwaram Probe Into a Political Weapon

New Delhi: In a deft strategic move, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has turned the investigation into the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme into a multi-front political war.

By announcing on September 1 that he would hand the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Reddy has trapped his chief rival, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government.

The decision followed a six-hour assembly debate on the damning findings of the Ghose Commission report. It is a single stone aimed at multiple targets. Reddy’s new Congress government has also restored general consent for the CBI to operate in the state, reversing a 2022 BRS decision and laying the groundwork for this gambit.

The move solves a core contradiction for Congress. Party leaders, from Rahul Gandhi to Reddy himself, have long accused the BJP of using agencies like the CBI as political tools, noting that over 95% of their cases target the opposition. How could Congress then entrust this same agency with Telangana’s biggest scandal?

Reddy’s answer was to turn this apparent hypocrisy into a weapon. By surrendering the probe to the BJP’s preferred instrument, he created a no-win scenario for them.

If the CBI aggressively pursues the case and acts against former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), whom the Ghose report names 32 times, it would kill any chance of a future BJP-BRS alliance. This would fracture the opposition, a long-term goal for Congress.

Conversely, if the CBI moves slowly or clears KCR, which Congress likely expects, Reddy gets a powerful narrative for the next election. He can then tell the public that his government did its duty and exposed the corruption, but the BJP used its "washing machine" to protect its secret ally, the BRS, which would help the Congress to portray the BRS and BJP as one and the same.

This story resonates in Telangana. The BJP’s growth in the state was stunted by the perception that it had a secret deal with the BRS. Halting Bandi Sanjay's popular padayatra, removing him as state president, and failing to act decisively against KCR’s daughter K. Kavitha in the Delhi liquor case all fed this belief. It allowed Congress to position itself as the only real opposition and win the anti-incumbency vote. Reddy’s CBI gambit is designed to revive this very narrative and put the BJP on the defensive.

Outsourcing the risk

Beyond cornering the BJP, the decision shrewdly manages risk. It insulates Reddy’s government from the dangers of prosecuting a figure like KCR. Despite his recent defeat, KCR is still credited with achieving statehood for Telangana and holds a significant public image.

Arresting him could spark a sympathy wave, turning a corruption scandal into a political vendetta. The arrest of N. Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh backfired spectacularly on the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. While the BJP’s arrest of Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi yielded no similar benefit for his party, the risk is real.

There is also a key legal hurdle. The Ghose Commission report is politically devastating, detailing how shifting the project’s site led to a "criminal waste" of over Rs. 11,680 crore. But proving criminal intent –that these were corrupt acts, not just flawed decisions – is a much higher bar in court.

A state-led investigation that fails to convict KCR could allow him to claim vindication. By handing the case to the CBI, Reddy outsources this risk. If KCR is arrested, the Union government did it. If not, the Union government failed. Either way, Reddy’s government can claim it did its part and wash its hands of the outcome.

A family's political self-goal

As Congress executes its strategy, the BRS is undermining its own defense, led by a political self-goal from KCR's daughter, K. Kavitha. Her public dissent has become a central, self-defeating act in the party’s drama.

Kavitha publicly endorsed the view that corruption occurred in Kaleshwaram but tried to blame her cousin, T. Harish Rao, and another relative, Santosh Rao. Her story – that she is the sole defender of a ‘god-like’ father surrounded by "demons" – crumbles under scrutiny. The contradiction is obvious: how can KCR get all the credit for the project but none of the blame for its corruption? Her attempt to defend her father has backfired, defaming him.

More critically, by admitting that corruption took place, Kavitha has punctured the BRS's primary narrative that Kaleshwaram was a pristine marvel. She handed a weapon to both Congress and the BJP, who can now say KCR's own daughter validates their claims.

Her attempt to isolate Harish Rao, a leader with grassroots credibility, has instead consolidated his position, as the party, including her brother KTR, has been forced to defend him.

The backlash from the BRS was swift. Party activists reportedly unfollowed her on social media, her PRO was removed from party communication groups, and party-affiliated media criticised her sharply. After KCR held a flurry of emergency meetings, Kavitha was eventually suspended on Tuesday (September 2). Kavitha’s maneuver to elevate herself as KCR’s true heir has instead isolated her and exposed deep fractures within Telangana’s most prominent political family.

The battles ahead

While the political chess game continues, the legal battle has begun. On September 2, the Telangana High Court granted KCR and Harish Rao interim protection from "adverse action" until October 7 based on the report of the Ghose Commission.

Meanwhile, the public may be growing weary. For them, what matters is not who pocketed the money, but the efficient working of the project. This points to a risk for Congress: the scandal’s power has a shelf life. What worked in 2023 may not matter by 2028 if the government fails to deliver on promises like providing water.

For now, CM Reddy has skillfully reshaped the political landscape. By sending the Kaleshwaram probe to the CBI, he has put the burden on the BJP, exploited the fissures within the BRS family, and shielded himself from direct confrontation. The Kaleshwaram project, once KCR's crowning glory, is now the stage for a high-stakes political drama where the next move is to be made not by Hyderabad, but by New Delhi. 

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