Telangana Election 2023 Results: Congress is expected to announce a chief minister candidate soon.
India's youngest state, Telangana, has seen just one party at the helm since its birth in 2014 - the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (formerly the Telangana Rashtra Samiti). But that will soon change as the Congress comprehensively defeated BRS in the assembly polls whose results were declared yesterday.
The Congress won 65 seats in the 119-member Telangana assembly, while the BRS got only 39.
But the party is yet to announce a Chief Minister candidate, and the Congress high command is expected to make an announcement soon.
Here are the 3 Congress leaders in the fray to win the top post in Telangana
Revanth Reddy
Revanth Reddy's style of functioning as Telangana Congress chief earned him several detractors within the party ranks, but the 54-year-old marshalled his troops well enough to dethrone BRS in the southern state. The party fielded him against Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in the elections, an indication of his rising stature within the state.
Following his appointment as Telangana Congress chief in July 2021, Mr Reddy was increasingly visible on the ground, leading street protests on a host of issues against the ruling BRS government.
Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu
Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka was another prominent face in Congress' intense campaign to oust KCR. Ahead of the polls, he had carried out a 1,400 km padyatra across the state, not only to win voters but also to talk to them and understand their concerns.
The 62-year-old's 'People's March' played a key role in ensuring the Congress' resurgence in the state.
Uttam Kumar Reddy
Uttam Kumar Reddy was head of the Congress' Telangana unit till July 2021, when he was replaced by Revanth Reddy. But the leader is still quite popular among party workers in the state and is one of the names likely to be considered for the Chief Minister's post.
Once it was clear that the party was heading for a win in the southern state, the leader said that he would be fine with any decision by the party's high command.