Anumula Revanth Reddy, chief of Telangana Congress who played a key role in the party’s thumping victory in the November 30 Assembly polls, was today sworn in as the state’s second Chief Minister.

Mr Reddy was administered the oath of office by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan at a ceremony at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad before a crowd of nearly 1 lakh.

Besides Mr Reddy, 11 members of his cabinet took the oath of office. This 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 Revanth Reddy’s choice as Chief Minister. The eight others to join 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, assuring his full support to Telangana’s progress. 

Congratulations to Shri Revanth Reddy Garu on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Telangana. I assure all possible support to further the progress of the state and the welfare of its citizens. @revanth_anumula

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 7, 2023

Before he took the oath of office, Mr Reddy and Mrs Gandhi held a victory lap inside the stadium in an open vehicle.

The Congress trounced the K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi, ruling Telangana since its formation in 2014, by winning 65 out of 119 Assembly seats.

Revanth Reddy, referred to as Tiger Revanth by his supporters, has been credited to have played a major role in the Congress’s victory. A former TDP leader, Mr Reddy switched to the Congress in 2017. He was appointed Telangana Congress president in 2021.

Over the past two years, Mr Reddy led a spirited campaign against the KCR-led government and was seen leading street protests and public demonstrations over a host of issues. The Congress’s efforts bore fruit and the party trumped the BRS.

Mr Reddy, however, had a challenge waiting for him. Soon after the victory, his detractors within the party opposed his elevation as Chief Minister. They pointed to corruption allegations against him and alleged that he had taken money in exchange for poll tickets.

Mr Reddy had fought hard to get his loyalists tickets, knowing well that he would not get the Chief Minister post if he did not have the support of a big chunk of MLAs. This worked well for him and the Congress leadership, in no mood to upset the apple cart, endorsed Mr Reddy’s claim to the top post.

Now in the Chief Minister seat, Mr Reddy faces the tall challenge of fulfilling the Congress’s poll guarantees and preparing the ground for the Lok Sabha elections due in six months.

Revanth Reddy arrived for his swearing-in ceremony Thursday – the 54-year-old is now Chief Minister of Telangana and head of the first Congress government in the still-young state – in an open-top jeep waving to a vocal and adoring crowd at Hyderabad’s 30,000-seat capacity LB Stadium.

READ | Revanth Reddy Takes Oath As Telangana Chief Minister, Gandhis On Stage

As big-ticket entrances go, Mr Reddy’s was relatively subdued; dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, and perched on a heavily-garlanded open-top vehicle driven cautiously through a sea of supporters chanting his name. But, in politics, optics are at least as important as the situation itself.

And in this entrance there was one important message – Sonia Gandhi standing by his side. Why was this significant?

Because former Congress chief Mrs Gandhi is revered in the southern state as ‘Sonia amma (mother)’ and seen by many as the driving force behind the creation of Telangana in 2014 – when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was in power at the centre.

For Revanth ‘Tiger’ Reddy, standing next to Sonia Gandhi does two things.

First, it underlines the support of the matriarch of the Gandhi family in his elevation to Telangana’s top job six years after joining the party. Widely seen as a near-automatic choice for Chief Minister, Mr Reddy still had to see off two challengers – Uttam Kumar Reddy and Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

Both are Congress veterans with decades of service to the party, both played key roles in the campaign that delivered Sunday’s win, and both expected to be ‘rewarded’ for their loyalty.

READ | Revanth Reddy Is Congress Choice, Rivals Give Party A “Loyalty” Reminder

For now, any discontent at losing the top post to Mr Reddy has been put to bed by making one a Deputy Chief Minister and the other a minister, most likely with a high-profile portfolio. And Mrs Gandhi’s public show of support should strengthen the new Chief Minister’s hand.

Second, it also ups Mr Reddy’s likeability factor among the people of Telangana, millions of whom are firm admirers of Sonia Gandhi particularly, if not the Congress as a party. Mr Reddy may not have needed the helping hand – he is already hugely popular – but a boost could never hurt.

Telangana was formed in 2014 amid tension within the then-ruling Congress, and Mrs Gandhi is widely seen as having played a key role in pushing through the bill that birthed the state.

READ | Telangana State Likely, Sonia Gandhi Has Cleared It, Say Sources

This included reaching out to the BJP’s Venkaiah Naidu for her fierce rival’s support, and even expelling six of her MPs for attempting to stall the bill in the Lok Sabha and issuing no-confidence motions.

The Congress has never shied away from reminding Telangana voters of Mrs Gandhi’s contribution, even demanding, in 2020, that a chapter on this topic be included in school syllabuses.

“Just as role of KCR (outgoing Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, hailed as the ‘father of Telangana’) cannot be denied… same is with Sonia Gandhiji’s role. You are incorporating KCR’s role in school syllabus… then why incorporate Soniaji’s contribution,” then party leader Sravan Dasoju said.

Mrs Gandhi herself called in that love ahead of this election; in a video message 48 hours before voting, she said, “I, with my colleagues, had the opportunity to be part of the birth of this great state… It is my dream to see a Congress government in Telangana… Will you give us your support?”

Message from Telangana’s own ‘Sonia Amma’ to the people of the state#MaarpuKavaliCongressRavali pic.twitter.com/R5tlW0yjSO

— INC Manipur (@INCManipur) November 28, 2023

The answer, as it turned out, was yes. The Congress eased to victory after votes were counted on Sunday, winning 64 of 119 seats to oust the BRS that had ruled since the state was formed in 2014. The Congress, divided when Telangana was formed, failed to capitalise on its role in its birth to win the first election. Now, nine years later, it finally has the reigns, and a second state in South India.

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