Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy with party leader Vijayashanti.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Ending suspense, the Congress on Tuesday announced A Revanth Reddy as Telangana Chief Minister and set December 7 as the date for swearing-in of the government.
However, the party kept others guessing on whether there will be one or more Deputy Chief Ministers and what role senior leaders from the state will have in the government but made it clear that the government under Revanth will not be a “one-man show” but a “team”.
It was also not clear whether there will be a new president for the state unit replacing Revanth.
The decision to choose Revanth over other claimants like Bhatti Vikramarka and N Uttam Kumar Reddy was made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge after going through the report prepared by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and other observers sent to the state.
“I wholeheartedly express my gratitude to… Kharge-ji, Mother of Telangana our beloved Soniamma, ever inspiring leader Rahul Gandhi, charismatic Priyanka Gandhi Vadra… K C Venugopal… D K Shivakumar… Manikrao Thakre, and last but not the least our Congress soldiers who stood by us through thick and thin,” Revanth said.
Sources said the observers, which also included Karnataka Minister K J George, Ajoy Kumar and Deepa Dasmunsi, submitted in the report that Revanth was the choice of an overwhelming number of MLAs, with the count over 50 among 64 MLAs, compared to Vikramarka and Uttam Kumar.
During the day, Kharge held discussions with former party chief Rahul Gandhi, who campaigned extensively in the state, as well as with Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, Shivakumar and state in-charge Manikrao Thakre before finalising the name.
Venugopal later held a meeting with Vikramarka and Uttam Kumar along with Shivakumar and Thakre on their future roles as well as the composition of the government. Sources said Revanth may also visit Delhi on the instructions of the central leadership to give a final touch to his team.
Announcing the decision after several rounds of discussions, Venugopal told a press conference, Kharge has chosen Revanth, a “dynamic leader who campaigned extensively in Telangana along with other senior leaders”, as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader.
The government under Revanth would be a “clear cut clean and very energetic and able government”, which will implement all the “guarantees” promised by the Congress, he said.
Asked about who will be the Deputy Chief Minister, he said, “whatever we have to announce, we have done that… We will recognise all senior leaders. This is going to be a team. This is not going to be a one-man show.”
With the Chief Minister post going to Revanth, the outgoing CLP leader Vikramarka, a Dalit, is eyeing the Deputy Chief Minister post. Damador Raja Narasimha, a Dalit from Madiga community, is also in the reckoning as he was a Deputy Chief Minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh and is currently a Permanent Invitee to the Congress Working Committee.
The central leadership has also made it clear that the choice of Speaker is crucial and they need one who is loyal to the party. One of the names suggested is Sridhar Babu Duddlilla.
With the swearing-in ceremony set for December 7, the leadership is racing against time to finalise names of those who should take oath along with Revanth.
Earlier, Revanth had said that the swearing in will be on December 9, coinciding with the birthday of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi who the party credits for the creation of a separate Telangana state. Though there was no official confirmation, December 7 was chosen as Rahul will be leaving for a seven-day South East Asia tour from Friday.
A senior leader said the Congress was willing to give space for the lone CPI MLA, who contested in alliance with the party, in the Ministry if the Left party made a demand. However, the CPI leaders said they would not be joining the government.