Revanth Reddy, the man of the moment in Telangana

Barely two hours since counting began, all top police officers from Hyderabad thronged Telangana Congress President Revanth Reddy's residence and tightened the security around his house as Telangana slipped slowly out of KCR's hand for the first time since the state came into existence back in 2014. The man of the moment, Reddy, has led taken out KCR, both in his stronghold and the state, and is poised to become Telangana's new Chief Minister.

Reddy, once in ABVP and then in TRS and TDP, was always considered an outsider within the Congress camp in Telangana. Barely six years after he joined Congress, Reddy rose up the ranks in no time after he took Rahul Gandhi's trusted aides -- Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who was also one of the lead campaigners in the state and Sunil Kanugolu, another key head in Telangana and close to the Gandhis -- into confidence.

Reddy's win in Telangana serves as the jewel in the crown for the Congress' South conquest which began in Karnataka earlier this year and provides the much-needed push to launch Rahul Gandhi's 2024 Lok Sabha 2024 campaign from the South.

Reddy had an uphill task ahead of him with the KCR-led government's massive developmental push in the form of several schemes aimed at improving farmers' livelihoods, providing support for girls and women had struck a deep chord. However, Reddy cashed in on the anti-incumbency wave and did the unthinkable by taking KCR head-on in his stronghold Kamareddy and beating him there.