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Congress Legislature Party authorised Kharge to pick next Telangana CM
People aware of the matter said Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy, who steered the party to victory with an aggressive campaign, was the leading contender for the state’s top elected post
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Monday passed a one-line resolution, authorising Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to pick the next Telangana chief minister a day after the party wrested power from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the southern state.
People aware of the matter said Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy, who steered the party to victory with an aggressive campaign, was the leading contender for the state’s top elected post.
“We will get to know the high command’s decision in a couple of hours,” a Congress leader said on condition of anonymity after an over three-hour CLP meeting at a Hyderabad hotel.
Reddy proposed the resolution as per the party’s tradition while Bhatti Vikramarka, the CLP leader in the outgoing assembly, seconded it. The meeting was held under Congress observer and Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar’s supervision.
The people cited above said Reddy, who enjoys the support of the majority of the newly elected lawmakers, has the backing of the party’s central leadership for the top post. They added once the new CLP leader is named, a Congress delegation will submit a letter to governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Another delegation that met Soundararajan on Sunday night explained the procedure the Congress would follow and said they would come back once the CLP leader was elected.
The governor’s office said it will on Monday inform the media if there is any request from Congress for an oath-taking ceremony. Vikramarka, Congress’s Dalit face, was expected to take oath as deputy chief minister.
Ahead of the CLP meeting, Shivakumar separately met Member of Parliament N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Vikramarka, and Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, who were seen to be in the race for the chief minister’s post. The meetings were held at another hotel.
Reddy has been credited with leading a robust local campaign focussed on alleged corruption to end BRS’s 10-year rule by winning 64 of the 119 seats. The BRS bagged 39 seats.
The Congress lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the heartland states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh months before the national polls next summer.
