Revanth Reddy sworn in as Telangana CM, Dalit leader Vikramarka is Dy CM

Anumula Revanth Reddy on Thursday took oath as the Chief Minister of Telangana while senior leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka was sworn in as his deputy.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered oath of office and secrecy to Revanth Reddy, Vikramarka and 10 ministers at L. B. Stadium at a public event attended by thousands of people.

The 54-year-old took the oath as the second chief minister of India’s youngest state amid loud cheers by his supporters.

Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, a Dalit leader, took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister. Ten ministers including two women also took oath.

Though Revanth Reddy was scheduled to take the oath at 1:04 p.m, the swearing-in was delayed by 15 minutes as several VIPs reaching the venue were held up in traffic jams around the stadium.

Revanth Reddy arrived in the stadium with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, standing in a decorated open vehicle.

N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Damodar Rajanarasimha, Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy, D. Sridhar Babu, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, Konda Surekha, Danasari Anasuya Seethakka, Tummala Nageshwar Rao, Jupally Krishna Rao and the other leaders are likely to take oath as ministers.

After the swearing-in, Revanth Reddy went to Sonia Gandhi and touched her feet. He introduced his wife and other family members to the top Congress leaders.

The swearing-in was attended by AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, K. C. Venugopal, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and other top Congress leaders.

The Congress party wrested power from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the November 30 Assembly election, bagging 64 seats in 119-member House.

A meeting of newly-elected MLAs held on December 4 had authorised Kharge to name the CLP leader.

Later, the leadership had summoned Uttam Kumar Reddy and Vikramarka to Delhi as they were seen as the contenders for the chief minister’s post. Following their meetings with some key central leaders, the party announced Revanth Reddy as the CLP leader.