Telangana gets new CM: In a historic first, Congress leader A Revanth Reddy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Telangana on Thursday (December 7), thus becoming the maiden party leader to take the office since the formation of the state in 2014. The oath-taking ceremony was held at L B Stadium in Hyderabad, which was attended by top Congress leadership including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Revanth Reddy. Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu was sworn in as Reddy’s Deputy.
Mallu, reportedly, had chief ministerial aspirations, however, had to settle with the Deputy rank after the party top brass communicated that Reddy will be the chief minister.
Who else were inducted into the cabinet?
Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, Surekha Konda and Anasuya Seethakka took oath as ministers in the Telangana cabinet. Uttam Kumar Reddy, C Damodar Rajanarasimha, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and D. Sridhar Babu also took oath as ministers. Tummala Nageswara Rao and Jupally Krishna Rao were also inducted.
PM Modi extends wishes to new government
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Chief Minister Reddy on the occasion and assured "all possible support" in the development of Telangana.
"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," the Prime Minister posted on X.
Race for CM post
Telangana witnessed a race for the CM post with several names emerging as top contenders, including Revanth Reddy. Mallu and Uttar Kumar were also one of the front-runners in the competition, however, the speculations were put to rest as Congress announced that Reddy will be the Chief Ministerial face of the party in the state. Notably, Reddy is the state chief of the party, who led the party to victory.
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Congress had made slew of promises in the run-up to the Assembly polls, which were held in the state on November 30.
- Congress party's manifesto included six guarantees and various declarations for Telangana, including Rs 4,000 old age pension and LPG at Rs 500.
- The manifesto, titled 'Abhaya Hastham', included the promise of Rs 2,500 per month and gas cylinders at Rs 500 for women, as well as 200 units of free electricity for all households.
- The Congress vowed to waive off crop loans of Rs two lakh at once.
(With ANI inputs)
