Revolt in Congress, Revanth Reddy will need to wait for swearing-in

HYDERABAD: The swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Congress government in Telangana was delayed on Monday due to a lack of consensus among the party's 64 MLAs on the choice for CM.
Initially, arrangements were made at Raj Bhavan for Congress state unit chief A Revanth Reddy to take the oath as CM, along with other ministers, including a deputy CM.However, differences emerged among senior leaders, prompting the party to postpone the event. Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Uttam Kumar Reddy, Sridhar Babu, and the Komatireddy brothers opposed Revanth as CM, said a leader privy to the developments.

The final decision on the government's composition, will be made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge along with special observers. The decision is expected to be announced on Tuesday after discussions in Delhi, sources said.
AICC observers, including Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar and AICC in-charge of Telangana Manikrao Thakre, travelled to Delhi to discuss the matter further with the party high command. The observers had been deputed to hold a Congress legislative party meeting and ensure the smooth formation of the government.

Potential CM candidate Revanth faced opposition from some senior leaders, forcing the action to shift to Delhi. Following a unanimous resolution during the CLP meeting, authorising Kharge to decide the CM, individual opinions of the 64 MLAs were then gathered at a private hotel at Gachibowli, a suburb in Hyderabad. While some MLAs suggested Bhatti, Uttam Kumar Reddy, and Sridhar Babu as potential CMs, the majority supported Revanth, sources said.
The initial speculation that AICC had finalised Revanth as the CM was denied by most senior leaders.
Bhatti, who is being tipped as the Dalit CM face of Congress, reportedly opposed the plan to have multiple deputy CMs. He is said to have expressed a preference for a single deputy CM with an important portfolio, if given that role. No consensus has been reached on the speaker, deputy speaker, and Telangana PCC president either. If Revanth is elected CLP leader, the post of PCC chief is likely to be given to a senior leader.