Congress leader Revanth Reddy will be sworn in as Telangana Chief Minister on Thursday (File).
New Delhi:
Revanth Reddy, 56, will be the new Chief Minister of Telangana, the Congress said this evening, putting to rest nearly 48 hours of frenzied speculation following its victory in Sunday’s election.
Under scrutiny for delays in confirming Mr Reddy to the top post – he was reportedly backed by over 40 of the party’s 64 newly-elected MLAs – the Congress will now move swiftly to install their man; the swearing-in has been scheduled for Thursday, senior leader KC Venugopal told reporters.
READ | Telangana Congress Chief Revanth Reddy Will Be Chief Minister
The energetic face of the Congress’ campaign, Revanth Reddy is well-travelled – with stints in the BJP’s student wing, the BRS (then the Telangana Rashtra Samithi) and the Telugu Desam Party.
He now faces a tough task not only with running the government but also consolidating and expanding the party’s gains ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha election. There is also the little matter of the Assembly election in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, which is also due next year.
Mr Reddy’s surge to the spotlight began in 2021, when he was appointed as boss of the Congress’ Telangana unit – a sharp promotion for someone who only joined the party four years earlier.
The party’s regard for him was evident by the number of times he shared stage space with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during campaign events; the apparent camaraderie on show in Hyderabad, when Mr Gandhi joined his colleague in waving “bye-bye” to KCR, the outgoing Telangana Chief Minister.
READ | “Bye-Bye, KCR”: Rahul Gandhi’s Tongue-In-Cheek Farewell At Telangana Rally
A forceful young man, Mr Reddy has since galvanised the Congress in Telangana; the ceremony installing him as President of the party’s state unit was thronged by hundreds, and he was a constant presence on the streets, leading protests on a host of issues against the then ruling BRS.
His dynamism earned him accolades (and votes) and also some surprising moments.
Earlier this year, during a rally in Telangana’s Bhupalpally district, an unidentified man threw an egg at him. The egg missed but that a grinning Mr Reddy marched on underlined his determined nature.
READ | Telangana Congress Chief Targeted With Egg At Rally. It Missed Him
All has not been smooth sailing though, with his aggressive style of functioning ruffling feathers within the Congress, especially of those who had spent decades in the party.
Fortunately for the Congress, that aggression has been well-channeled in this election.
READ | How Revanth Reddy Changed The Game For Congress In Telangana
Revanth Reddy, who has been a MLA, a MP, and will now be a Chief Minister, began his political journey with the student wings of both the Congress’ rivals in this election – the BRS and BJP.
His first political office was in 2006 – he won a Zilla Parishad election.
The next year he was a MLA – in then undivided Andhra Pradesh – as an independent candidate. In 2009 he was back as a MLA, this time on the books of ex-Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP.
READ | Revanth Reddy Was Once With KCR, BJP’s Student Wing
He faced a setback in 2015 – he was allegedly caught on camera trying to bribe a MLA to vote in favour of the TDP in a legislative council election. He was sent to jail but later secured bail.
After a few years in political wilderness, Mr Reddy joined the Congress in 2017 and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Telangana’s Malkajgiri two years later, before being made state boss in 2021.
Born to a family of farmers in Mahbubnagar district, Mr Reddy has a degree in Fine Arts and is married to Geetha, a Congress leader’s niece. The two have a daughter – Nymisha – who has a son.
