Telangana Congress chief Anumula Revanth Reddy, who played a key role in the party's landslide victory in the November 30 Assembly elections, was today sworn in as the second chief minister of the state.
Mr Reddy was taken by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan at a ceremony at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad before a crowd of nearly 1 lakh.
Besides Mr Reddy, eleven members of his cabinet took the oath of office. These included Mallu Bhatti Vikaramarka, who was sworn in as deputy chief minister, and former Telangana Congress chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy, among those who opposed the choice of Revanth Reddy as chief minister. The eight others joining the cabinet are Sridhar Babu, Ponnam Prabhakar, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Damodar Rajanarasimha, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Dana Anasuya, Tummala Nageswar Rao, Konda Surekha and Jupally Krishna Rao.
The ceremony was attended by the Gandhi family – Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra -, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr Reddy on the occasion and assured his full support for Telangana's progress.
Congratulations to Shri Revanth Reddy Garu for taking oath as Chief Minister of Telangana. I assure all possible support to promote the progress of the state and the well-being of its citizens. @revanth_anumula
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 7, 2023
Before taking the oath of office, Mr Reddy and Mrs Gandhi took a victory lap at the stadium in an open vehicle.
The Congress defeated the K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which had ruled Telangana since its formation in 2014, by winning 65 of the 119 seats in the Assembly.
Revanth Reddy, called Tiger Revanth by his supporters, is said to have played an important role in the Congress' victory. Former TDP leader Mr Reddy switched to Congress in 2017. In 2021, he was appointed president of the Telangana Congress.
Over the past two years, Mr Reddy led a spirited campaign against the KCR-led government, leading street protests and public demonstrations on a range of issues. The Congress's efforts paid off and the party trumped the BRS.
However, a challenge awaited Mr. Reddy. Shortly after the victory, his opponents within the party opposed his elevation to prime minister. They pointed to allegations of corruption against him, claiming he had accepted money in exchange for ballots.
Mr Reddy had fought hard to get tickets for his loyalists, knowing that he would not get the Chief Minister's post if he did not have the support of a large section of MLAs. This worked well for him and the Congress leadership, in no mood to upset the apple cart, supported Mr Reddy's claim to the top post.
Now that he is occupying the Chief Minister's seat, Mr Reddy faces a major challenge to fulfill the Congress's election assurances and pave the way for the Lok Sabha elections due in six months.