New Delhi: The Congress is planning to stage a big show in Hyderabad on December 7 when the grand old party’s first chief minister Revanth Reddy will be sworn in.
According to party insiders, the top brass including former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, incumbent chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who campaigned extensively, are expected to attend Revanth’s swearing-in ceremony to celebrate the win in the southern state.
All through the campaign, the Congress had flagged that while Sonia Gandhi was behind the creation of Telangana in 2013, the BRS had ruined the state during the past 10 years. During her speech, Sonia, popular as “Soniaamma’ among the masses, is expected to flag the early fulfilment of the six poll guarantees that she had announced during the start of the campaign, said party insiders.
“The Congress government is committed to fulfilling the guarantees made during the campaign and usher in a people’s rule for the 3.5 crore people of Telangana. It is a big victory for the party and we are planning a big show on Dec 7 in Hyderabad,” AICC in-charge of Telangana Manikrao Thakre told ETV Bharat.
“Sonia Gandhi’s emotional video appeal on the last day of the campaign when Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi did a roadshow in Malkajgiri made all the difference on the polling day,” he said.
A day after being named the chief minister-designate Revanth Reddy, who led the party in the state over the past years, sought the blessings of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Kharge and invited them to his swearing on December 7. Besides, the Congress top brass, party chief ministers in Karnataka K Siddaramaiah, deputy CM DK Shiv Kumar, Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukkhu, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel are also expected to attend Revanth’s swearing-in ceremony.
The Telangana victory is significant for the Congress as it won the southern state for the first time after it was created in 2013 when the UPA ruled at the Centre. The victory is also significant for the party as it has come alongside losses in three Hindi-speaking states Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
“We have defeated a regional party in a state in years and there are several reasons to celebrate the Telangana win. The dreams of Soniaamma, Rahul Gandhi, the martyred sons of Telangana and the Bharat Jodo yatra have been realized. The dreams of the people for change and progress have been realized,” AICC functionary Ajoy Kumar, who supervised the state poll campaign, told this channel.
He urged the party workers, who were upset over the poll loss in three states, to cheer up. “The Congress has registered a base 40 per cent vote share in the three states and our total votes polled are more than the total votes polled by the BJP. So, there are reasons to be happy and start preparing for the 2024 polls battle,” he said. Having won the state polls, the Congress is now eyeing to win a majority of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, said party insiders.
Also read:
