Ahead of oath-taking, Telangana CM-designate Revanth Reddy arrives in Hyd

HYDERABAD: Ahead of his swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, Telangana Chief Minister-designate Revanth Reddy reached Hyderabad to a grand welcome from party supporters after meeting top Congress leaders in the national capital following the massive win in the assembly polls.

Reddy arrived at the Begumpet airport in Hyderabad on Wednesday evening.

Earlier in the day, 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.'

"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'.

"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.