Congress likely to name Telangana CM by Tuesday evening

Hyderabad, Dec 5: The Congress party’s leadership is likely to announce its choice of Telangana chief minister by Tuesday evening as senior leaders Uttam Kumar Reddy and Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka have reached Delhi for talks with the central leaders.

The process of consultations for naming a leader of the newly-elected CLP is in the final phase, say party sources.

Congress MP and former president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Uttam Kumar Reddy met Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and AICC observer D.K. Shivakumar.

Vikramarka, who was leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in the dissolved Assembly, is also scheduled to meet Shivakumar and other senior leaders.

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge told media persons in Delhi on Tuesday that the party will decide on Tuesday who will be the chief minister of Telangana.

A meeting of newly-elected MLAs held in Hyderabad on Monday morning authorised Mallikarjun Kharge to name the leader of the CLP.

However, till late Monday there was no announcement from the leadership, causing anxiety among the supporters of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A.Revanth Reddy, who is the front-runner for the top post.

Worried over the delay in announcement by the party, some supporters of Revanth Reddy staged a protest outside Raj Bhavan, demanding that he be sworn-in as the chief minister. The police had to disperse them.

All arrangements were made at Raj Bhavan amid the buzz that Revanth Reddy will be taking oath as the chief minister on Monday evening.

With no word from the Congress leadership, the plans for the swearing-in ceremony were put on hold.

Shivakumar, who along with the other AICC observers had attended the CLP meeting, left for Delhi on Monday night. He is understood to have briefed Kharge and other central leaders on the decision taken at the CLP meeting and also apprised them of the opinion taken individually from the newly-elected MLAs.

After the CLP meeting, Shivakumar along with other observers Deepa Das Munshi, Dr Ajoy Kumar, K.J. George and K. Muraleedharan held individual meetings with all 64 legislators to take their opinion.

While Revanth Reddy is the front-runner for the chief minister’s post, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka Uttam Kumar Reddy and former deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha are seen as the other contenders for the post.