Hyderabad: The Congress party has declared Anumula Revanth Reddy to lead the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Telangana, clearing the way for his elevation as the state’s next chief minister.
Revanth, 54, will take the oath of office Thursday, two days before former party president Sonia Gandhi’s birthday.
Besides her birthday, 9 December also marks the day in 2009 when the first administrative move to form a separate Telangana state was announced by the then Congress-led UPA-2 government. This was preceded by a fast-unto-death agitation mounted by KCR who rode on the back of the statehood movement and ruled the state from 2014 till now.
Exuding confidence in Congress’ victory even before votes were cast on 30 November, Revanth had declared that the new chief minister would take the oath of office at 10.30 am on 9 December at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad. The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief had, however, stopped short of declaring himself the next CM.
On Tuesday, Revanth in a post on X (formerly Twitter) thanked Kharge and the Gandhis for trusting him with the top job and also “Congress soldiers who stood by us through thick and thin”.
I wholeheartedly express my gratitude to honourable AICC president
Shri @kharge ji, Mother of Telangana our beloved #Soniamma , ever inspiring leader @RahulGandhi ji, charismatic @priyankagandhi ji, AICC General Secretary (Org) @kcvenugopalmp ji, deputy CM of Karnataka… pic.twitter.com/Kl50cQHxih— Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) December 5, 2023
Following the counting of votes Sunday, the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the state legislative assembly with 64 seats, giving it a clear majority in the 119-member legislature. Its INDIA ally CPI too won 1 seat.
State Congress legislators told ThePrint that Revanth was the clear favourite of “about 50 of 64 MLAs”. This for having led the party to victory with his whirlwind tour, galvanising the cadres and also stirring the public mood against the incumbent with his emotive speeches.
The decision to appoint him CM, announced by Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal Tuesday evening, came after two days of parleys within the party’s state unit to iron out differences and gratify senior Telangana Congress leaders who were opposed “to an outsider” taking the top post only six years after having joined the party.
On Monday, arrangements were reportedly being made at the Raj Bhavan for a quiet swearing-in ceremony for Revanth. This was even as other CM hopefuls including Uttam Kumar Reddy and Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka reportedly expressed concerns in their communication with the leadership.
The situation turned complicated in the afternoon after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party held at the Ellaa Hotel in Gachibowli where all the elected legislators were lodged.
The MLAs reportedly failed to arrive at a consensus on who will be chief minister at the meeting presided over by Karnataka Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, party’s Telangana in-charge Manikrao Thakre and Revanth. After a discussion of about 40 minutes, the CLP decided to send a brief resolution to the party high command, unanimously entrusting the responsibility of choosing the CLP leader over to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Later Monday, Shivakumar and Thakre landed in Delhi with the legislators’ letter and to brief the party chief. Bhatti and Uttam too landed in Delhi.
“Due recognition will be given to all the senior leaders. The Congress government in Telangana will not be a one man show. It will operate as a team to fulfil our guarantees to the people,” Venugopal, flanked by Bhatti and Uttam, told reporters at the AICC HQ.
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‘Outsider tag’
Since his induction into the party in 2017 and elevation as TPCC chief in 2021, Revanth, a former TDP MLA, has been battling “the outsider” tag.
His swift ascendancy and proximity to the Gandhis, and their steadfast support, have caused some heartburn within the Telangana Congress, especially among leaders associated with the party for several decades.
That is not to discount the fact that in the run-up to the polls, everyone came together to rally behind Revanth, exhibiting an uncharacteristic unity, which analysts say, resulted in the party’s victory.
The harmony apparently lost the tune thereafter but party leaders are, sources said, now expected to abide by the high command’s decision.
“I am in Delhi for meetings. I will comment on the matter later,” Bhatti Vikramarka had told ThePrint over the phone, just before the announcement by Venugopal. Supporters of Vikramarka, a senior leader in his own right, say he too was a rightful claimant for the top post since he conducted a statewide padayatra in the run-up to the polls.
Revanth supporters grow impatient
Jubilation among party workers over returning to power in the state after 10 years and trouncing the KCR-led BRS government was such that the wait for Sonia Gandhi’s birthday on 9 December also seemed too long.
A group of visibly agitated Revanth Reddy supporters staged a protest in front of the Ellaa Hotel in Gachibowli, the IT hub and financial district where newly-elected Congress MLAs have been camping since Monday.
The grouse of these men, from Mahbubnagar, home turf of TPCC chief Reddy, was with “the inordinate delay in declaring their fully able leader the next CM of Telangana”.
“WE WANT REVANTH REDDY as CM,” read the placards in their hands.
Some of them even reportedly threatened to end their lives over the postponement, prompting the police personnel posted at the spot to pack them off in vans to the police stations Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, sessions were organised at the hotel for newly-elected Congress legislators including one by Prof K. Nageshwar, a noted academic and former MLC, and former Congress minister Chinna Reddy, on rules and procedures of the state legislative assembly.
“A vast majority of the MLAs, including me, have approved Revanth’s name for the CM post. There are some other claimants but the leadership, we were given to understand, has been firm on Revanth’s name,” one Congress legislator lodged at the hotel told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
The BRS leadership including working president K.T. Rama Rao has been mum on the developments, but party supporters have been slamming “the Congress culture” with comments and memes on social media.
“Yes, Congress took time to decide the CM candidate in Telangana. But it’s the same story in MP, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh too, where the BJP won with a big majority,” said political commentator Bhandaru Srinivasa Rao.
It is not clear yet as to whether Revanth Reddy’s swearing-in will take place at the Raj Bhavan or the LB Stadium.
The sports venue in the heart of Hyderabad, opposite the Assembly, has lately been serving more as a platform for political rallies addressed by leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and public swearing-in ceremonies. Congress leader Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy assumed charge in May 2004 at the LB Stadium, using his first signature as chief minister of United Andhra Pradesh to approve free electricity for farmers.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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