Revanth Reddy picked as next Telangana CM

Anumula Revanth Reddy, the firebrand local leader who steered the Congress to its first victory in Telangana, was named on Tuesday as the next chief minister of the southern state. He is set to take oath on December 7.

- Suresh Dharur

Reddy, 54, heads the Telangana unit of the party and was instrumental in the Congress trouncing the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the recently concluded assembly elections, the first time in two decades that it had bested a regional force. The Congress’s impressive victory in Telangana was the only bright spot for the party that slumped to losses in three key heartland states on Sunday.

The announcement was made by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal in Delhi after a series of parleys held by the central leadership to resolve competing claims for the top post.

“After considering the report by the observers and holding discussions, the party president Mallikarjun Kharge has decided to go with Revanth Reddy as the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader,” Venugopal told reporters.

He was flanked by two other contenders for the CM’s post —seven-time lawmaker and former state unit chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and the party’s floor leader in the outgoing assembly, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

“We will recognise all senior leaders. This is going to be a team, this is not going to be a one-man show. The Congress will go with the team,” he told reporters while replying to queries on the issue.

The announcement ended the suspense surrounding the choice of the new CLP leader — with the Congress wining a simple majority, the party’s leader in the assembly will be the CM — after Uttam Kumar Reddy and Vikramarka both threw their hats into the ring.

Reddy, who had switched over to the Congress from the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party in 2017 and was appointed state unit chief in 2021, would be sworn in on December 7 in Hyderabad.

But there was no word on whether the party will name a deputy chief minister or about the composition of the new cabinet.