AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi assumed the role of Pro-tem Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly at Raj Bhawan. However, this move has sparked controversy as BJP MLAs arrived at Raj Bhawan to meet the Governor, Tamilisai Soundararajan, expressing their condemnation of Akbaruddin Owaisi's appointment as Pro-tem Speaker.
The oath-taking ceremony, held on Friday, witnessed the presence of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. As the Pro-tem Speaker, Akbaruddin Owaisi's responsibility is to officiate the Assembly session temporarily, guiding proceedings until the newly-elected members are sworn in and a permanent Speaker is elected. The upcoming session of the third Telangana State Legislative Assembly is scheduled to commence on Saturday.
A day before the Pro-tem Speaker's appointment, twelve MLAs were sworn in as ministers in a fresh cabinet in Telangana. The ceremony, held in Hyderabad, marked the induction of the new Chief Minister, Anumula Revanth Reddy, who made history by becoming the first Congress Chief Minister of Telangana. Alongside him, Congress MLA Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu took the oath as the Deputy Chief Minister. This development is notable, considering that Congress secured an absolute majority in Telangana for the first time, winning 64 out of 119 seats.
Revanth Reddy's victory in Kodangal against BRS's Patnam Narender Reddy by a margin of 32,532 votes added to the Congress's triumph. However, both BRS leader KCR and Revanth Reddy faced defeat in Kamareddy's seat, which was won by BJP's Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy.
Revanth Reddy's political journey began after graduating from Osmania University, where he was a member of the ABVP. He was elected as an MLC in 2007 as an independent candidate and later joined the Telugu Desam Party. Winning the Kodangal seat in the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections with a vote share of 46.45%, he secured a victory again in 2019 with a vote share of 39.06%. After joining the Congress in 2017, he faced his first defeat in the 2018 Telangana Assembly elections.
The political landscape in Telangana witnessed a shift as Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which ruled the state for a decade, won 38 seats in the recent elections. The BJP secured eight seats, and AIMIM obtained seven, reflecting the evolving dynamics of India's youngest state.