File picture of Telangana Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

Ending two days of suspense, the Congress central leadership has named Telangana party chief A. Revanth Reddy as its choice of Chief Minister of the State. He will take the oath of office on December 7.

Mr. Reddy was named the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), and he will become the first Congress Chief Minister of Telangana, a State formed in 2014. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge gave his stamp of approval on the basis of a report submitted by the party’s poll observers.

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The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president was elected with a thumping majority from the Kodangal Assembly constituency, though he — along with outgoing Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao — lost the Kamareddy seat to the BJP candidate Katipally Venkataramana Reddy.

‘Dynamic leader’

Making the announcement at a press conference in New Delhi, All India Congress Committee general secretary K.C. Venugopal said: “Going by the feedback provided by the Congress observers, including Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, party in-charge for Telangana Manikrao Thakare, and other leaders, the Congress president decided to nominate Mr. Reddy as the CLP leader.”

The observers had attended the Telangana CLP meeting in Hyderabad on December 4, which had authorised the party president to nominate the CLP leader.

Terming Mr. Reddy a dynamic leader, Mr. Venugopal said that he had campaigned extensively in the run-up to the election, along with all senior leaders.

He reiterated the party’s commitment to the people of Telangana, and said that the new government’s top priority would be to fulfil their aspirations and the guarantees that the party has given them. He made it clear that it would be a team effort in the State, with all being involved in the process.

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The observers were present at the press conference, along with former CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Nalgonda MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who were also aspirants for the top post. Earlier, both had met separately with the central observers and with Mr. Shivakumar.

The party will now shift its focus to constituting the new Council of Ministers. A maximum of 17 Ministers, apart from the Chief Minister, can be inducted into the Cabinet. It will be a tightrope walk for the leadership to accommodate the ambitious aspirants from among its 64 MLAs, a mix of newcomers and seasoned politicians.