No Star, Got Caught In ‘Star Wars'”: BJP’s KCR, Revanth Reddy Giant-Killer

New Delhi: 

The headline moment from Sunday’s Telangana election was the Congress easing to a win over outgoing Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi. But dig a little deeper and there is a remarkable story – an unknown local BJP leader at the centre of a double giant-killing feat.

Meet Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy – the businessman-politician who beat the BRS’ K Chandrasekhar Rao, the departing Chief Minister, and his successor, the Congress’ Revanth Reddy.

Now arguably the BJP’s most prominent local face, he secured over 66,000 votes to defeat Mr Rao, and dump the Congress’ state unit boss to third. There were nearly 12,000 votes between the three.The unassuming Mr Reddy spoke to NDTV Monday and played down the significance of the win. “I am no star… no superstar. I just got caught in ‘Star Wars’,” he said with a grin, referring to his rivals, one hailed as the ‘father of Telangana’ and the other as the architect of the Congress’ unlikely win.