Revanth set to be Telangana CM, official announcement soon

Top Congress leadership on Tuesday discussed the issue of government formation in Telangana.

Sources claimed the name of Revanth Reddy as chief minister in Telangana was cleared during the meeting held at the residence of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Reddy is the state Congress chief and is credited with the party's win in the recently concluded assembly polls.

Kharge had earlier told reporters that the decision on the chief minister will be taken today.

Sources said though a decision has been taken internally, the name of the party's chief ministerial candidate will be declared at the meeting of the Telangana Congress Legislature Party in Hyderabad later.

Former party chief Rahul Gandhi met the Congress president at his residence, where Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar was also present along with Telangana Congress in-charge Manikrao Thakre, and discussed the formalities of government formation in Telangana.

Thakre said he met the Congress president and the party will decide on the new Telangana Chief Ministerial candidate.

"We are here only to submit the report. Apart from that there is a one-line resolution that the party high command will take the decision (on chief minister)," Shivakumar said in Hyderabad.

Shivakumar was one of the party's observers appointed by the leadership to talk to newly-elected MLAs in Telangana and take their views on government formation.

He has already given the report to the Congress president after meeting all the newly-elected MLAs in Telangana.

The Karnataka deputy chief minister also separately met former Telangana PCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy in Delhi, who is also seeking a key position in the new Congress government in the state.

Reddy said the CLP meeting authorised the Congress president to take a decision on new government formation including that on the chief minister.

"The Telangana Congress MLAs have unanimously resolved that our CLP leader and other issues will be decided by AICC president," he told reporters after the meeting.

He refrained from making a further statement and said, "We will go by whatever decision the AICC takes."

Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy has also been meeting newly-elected party MLAs in Hyderabad.

Hectic parleys are taking place in Hyderabad where another meeting of the CLP will be held on Tuesday evening where the chief minister's name will be announced.

The Congress defeated the Bharat Rashtra Samiti in Telangana by bagging 64 seats in the southern state.