Four days after leading the Congress in Telangana to a victory in the just concluded Assembly elections, party president A Revanth Reddy is all set to be sworn in. The ceremony will be held at Hyderabad on Thursday, December 7. The to-be Chief Minister of the state will take his oath at exactly 1:04 pm at an auspicious time, said party leaders. However, it is not certain if the Congress will also announce the formation of a cabinet on the same day. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday, December 6, also met Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, ex-party president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi in New Delhi to personally invite them to attend his swearing-in.

The announcement of Revanth Reddy becoming the Chief Minister comes after a few days of meetings held within the state Congress and with its central leadership as well given that there were other claimants for the post as well. With the decks now cleared, it is likely that other senior party leaders who were eyeing the post will settle for other plum cabinet portfolios. The Telangana cabinet can comprise a maximum of 17 ministers. 

Revanth Reddy’s swearing-in ceremony will take place at the LB Stadium in Hyderabad, and the Telangana Congress president has also invited the general public of the state to attend his ceremony on Thursday. In an open letter on the occasion, he wrote his government will provide a democratic and transparent governance, and will also form a government for the welfare of weaker sections, Dalits, tribals, minorities, women and youth. 

Other important leaders who have been invited for Revanth Reddy’s swearing-in ceremony include Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, Ashok Chavan, Digvijays Singh, Veerappa Moily, Manickam Tagore, P. Chidambaram, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Meera Kumari and others.