Revanth Reddy sworn in as Telangana CM

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan greets the state`s newly sworn-in CM Revanth Reddy. Pic/PTI

Congress legislature party leader A Revanth Reddy was on Thursday sworn in as the Chief Minister of Telangana.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Revanth Reddy.

Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu also took oath as the Deputy CM of the state that was formed in the year 2014.

Besides Revanth Reddy, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka (Deputy Chief Minister), N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, C Damodar Rajanarasimha, D Sridhar Babu, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, Konda Surekha, D Anasuya (popularly known as Seethakka), Tummala Nageswara Rao and Jupally Krishna Rao took oath as ministers.

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah attended the ceremony held at the L B Stadium, reported news agency PTI.

Earlier, Reddy met the party's national president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in Delhi. He also called on Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party MP Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi before leaving for Hyderabad, reported ANI.

"Congratulations to Telangana's CM Designate, @revanth_anumula Under his leadership, the Congress govt will fulfil all its guarantees to the people of Telangana and build a Prajala Sarkar," Rahul Gandhi posted from his official handle on X after meeting him.

Reddy conveyed his heartfelt appreciation to fellow party leaders and supporters for their 'unwavering support' and acknowledged the affection of his loyalists, who stood by him through 'every challenge and triumph', reported ANI.

"I wholeheartedly express my gratitude to the honourable AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mother of Telangana, our beloved Sonia Amma, ever-inspiring leader Rahul Gandhi ji, charismatic Priyanka Gandhi ji, AICC General Secretary (Org) KC Venugopal ji, deputy CM of Karnataka DK Shivakumar, Incharge General Secretary-Telangana Manikrao Thakare ji, and last but not least, our Congress soldiers who stood by us through thick and thin," Reddy posted on X.

Seen as a strong critic of outgoing Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Revanth was the face of the Congress in the Assembly polls and ran a spirited campaign.

A Lok Sabha MP from Malkajgiri, he left the TDP and joined Congress in 2017.

In June 2021, he was appointed president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, replacing N Uttam Kumar Reddy.

Congress won an absolute majority in Telangana for the first time since the state was founded, winning 64 of 119 seats.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which ruled India's youngest state for 10 years, finished significantly behind the Congress, at 38 seats.

The BJP won eight seats, and AIMIM got seven.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)