Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday, 11 October 2026, invoked the Ramayana to frame India's political contest, calling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 'Ravan' and the Indian National Congress 'Ram' while addressing a gathering in Goa as part of the party's Goy Rakhonn Yatra. Revanth Reddy appealed to Goans to back Congress in the state's 2027 Assembly elections, expressing confidence that the party would form the government there.

Key Remarks at the Yatra

'The story in Indian politics has a Ram and a Ravan. Ravan is BJP, which is dividing the people, and Ram is Congress. If the people want Ravan to lose, they have to support Ram in this fight,' Revanth Reddy said, according to a release from his Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

He urged Goans not to vote for smaller parties he claimed were propped up by the BJP, warning that 'any vote for them is a vote for BJP.' He called on voters to exclusively back the 'Hand symbol' — Congress's electoral symbol — in the coming election.

Standing in for Rahul Gandhi

Revanth Reddy was present at the event as a substitute for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had been scheduled to attend but was required in Delhi. 'Yesterday, I got a call from Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji. He said Rahul ji is needed in Delhi, where he is leading the fight for our country... I am here as a messenger and representative of Rahul ji,' he said.

He described Gandhi as leading 'the youth, the opposition and the entire country in the fight against the corrupt dictatorship of the Modi government' — remarks that drew sharp applause from Congress workers present.

Allegations Against Goa Government

Revanth Reddy also levelled pointed allegations at Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, challenging him on the state's drug problem. 'The Prime Minister and Home Minister are saying Nasha Mukt Bharat. My question is simple — why are you not implementing it in Goa? It is because you are making money off drugs,' he said.

He questioned why central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) — which he argued were under BJP control — had failed to curb the drug trade in Goa. The Goa government has not yet responded to these allegations.

Revanth Reddy also alleged that the ruling BJP at the Centre was 'misusing' the Election Commission of India (ECI) to remove voters — particularly Dalits, Adivasis, and Minorities — from electoral rolls, calling it an attack on democracy. These are contested political claims and have not been independently verified.

The Telangana Parallel

Drawing a direct parallel with his own party's 2023 election campaign in Telangana, Revanth Reddy said he sensed 'the same optimism' in Goa that had preceded Congress's victory there. 'I remember how we, too, in Telangana had done a similar padayatra,' he said, commending Goa Assembly Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao and Goa Pradesh Congress President Girish Chodankar for organising the yatra.

He stated that people in Goa are 'clear that the BJP government cannot be allowed to come to power for a third time' in the state, framing the 2027 election as a decisive contest between two competing visions for Goa's future.

With Goa's Assembly elections still roughly a year away, the Goy Rakhonn Yatra signals that Congress has begun its ground campaign early — a strategy consistent with the pre-election mobilisation that preceded its 2023 Telangana win.