Anumula Revanth Reddy, who led the Congress to a resounding win in Telangana by decimating the BRS, will be the next Chief Minister of the state and will take oath on December 7 (Thursday). The Telangana Congress chief will take oath along with a few ministers. Rahul Gandhi will also attend the swearing-in ceremony.
Reddy was finalised as CM after Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held a meeting in Delhi earlier in the day. On Monday, the newly elected Congress MLAs passed a resolution authorising Kharge to name the leader of Congress legislature party.
"The Honourable Congress President has decided to go with Revanth Reddy as the new CLP of Telangana Legislative Party. Revanth Reddy is working as the PCC president. He a dynamic leader who campaigned extensively with other senior leaders. We are very sure that the first and foremost priority of this government will be to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Telangana and the guarantees given to them," AICC general secretary K C Venugopal confirmed in a presser, as per news agency PTI.
Revanth Reddy, who started his political career as a student activist with ABVP, spearheaded the Congress' electoral campaign in the southern state, taking the party to its only victory in the recently held assembly elections in five states. Congress won 64 of 119 assembly seats while BRS won only 39 seats in Telangana. BJP bagged 8 and AIMIM secured victory on 7 assembly seats.
After winning the state, Revanth Reddy, who took over as the Congress state president in 2021, said the party would work to revive democracy in the state and fulfil the aspirations of the people.
The Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), led by KCR, has ruled Telangana for two consecutive terms ever since the state was formed in 2014.
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Revanth Reddy took on CM K Chandrasekhar Rao in Kamareddy, and also fought election from the Kodangal seat that he lost in 2018. He lost Kamareddy to BJP's KVR Reddy, who pulled off a surprise by bagging 66,652 votes in the constituency. Reddy came third with 54,916 votes, just behind KCR, who bagged 59,911 votes.
However, he won from Kodangal, and now is being hailed as the man who shaped Congress's victory in Telangana with his constant on-ground presence. Apart from Reddy, other contenders for the CM post were former state Congress chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy, former minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and former deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha.