sovgeo.com
Revanth Reddy, the newly elected Chief Minister of Telangana, took oath of office and secrecy on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath to Reddy and his 17-member cabinet, which includes nine ministers from the Congress and eight from its allies.
Reddy, who led the Congress to a stunning victory in the Telangana Assembly elections, defeating the incumbent Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), has kept the Home Ministry for himself, along with the portfolios of General Administration, Law and Order, and Anti-Corruption. He has also appointed senior Congress leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka as his deputy, who will handle the Finance, Planning, and Revenue departments.
The other key portfolios in the Reddy cabinet are as follows:
- Uttam Kumar Reddy: Irrigation, Power, and Rural Development
- Komatireddy Venkat Reddy: Education, Health, and Family Welfare
- Jana Reddy: Panchayat Raj, Municipal Administration, and Urban Development
- Ponnam Prabhakar: Transport, Roads, and Buildings
- D.K. Aruna: Industries, Commerce, and IT
- Revuri Prakash Reddy: Agriculture, Cooperation, and Marketing
- Sabitha Indra Reddy: Women and Child Development, Social Welfare, and Tribal Welfare
- Damodar Rajanarasimha: Labour, Employment, and Skill Development
The allies of the Congress, which include the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), have also got their share of the cabinet berths. The allocation of the portfolios to the allies are as follows:
- L. Ramana (TDP): Forest, Environment, and Science and Technology
- Chada Venkat Reddy (CPI): Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs, and Legal Metrology
- M. Kodandaram (TJS): Culture, Tourism, and Endowments
- Akbaruddin Owaisi (AIMIM): Minority Welfare, Housing, and Waqf
- A. Revanth Reddy (TDP): Youth Affairs, Sports, and Information and Public Relations
- P. Sudarshan Reddy (CPI): Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, and Dairy Development
- T. Jeevan Reddy (TJS): Higher Education, Technical Education, and Collegiate Education
- Ahmed Balala (AIMIM): Backward Classes Welfare, Handlooms, and Textiles
Revanth Reddy, who is the first Congress Chief Minister of Telangana since its formation in 2014, has promised to implement the six guarantees of the party in his first cabinet meeting itself. These include waiving off farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh, providing unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month, giving free power to farmers for 24 hours, increasing the pension amount to Rs 2,000 per month, filling up 1.5 lakh government vacancies, and enhancing the Aasara scheme for women self-help groups.
Revanth Reddy, who is also the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president, has thanked the people of Telangana for giving him a massive mandate and has vowed to work for the welfare and development of the state. He has also expressed his gratitude to the Congress high command, especially Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for their support and guidance.
Revanth Reddy, who started his political career as a student leader in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), has risen through the ranks of the Congress, after joining the party in 2017. He has been a vocal critic of the BRS and its chief K. Chandrashekar Rao, whom he accused of corruption, nepotism, and misgovernance. He has also been instrumental in forging a strong alliance with the opposition parties, which helped the Congress to secure 64 seats out of 119 in the Telangana Assembly.
Revanth Reddy, who is also a two-time MLA from Kodangal constituency, has faced several controversies and challenges in his political journey, such as the cash-for-vote scam, the Revanth tapes, and the BRS’s alleged attempts to poach his MLAs. However, he has overcome all the hurdles and has emerged as the undisputed leader of the Congress and the Chief Minister of Telangana
