The Congress central leadership, led by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, has taken the decision. The final announcement will be made after an ongoing meeting between Mr Kharge and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who oversaw the Congress campaign in Telangana, with Mr Reddy possibly taking oath later this week.
The 54-year-old Congress leader, known for his never-say-die attitude, faced stiff resistance from within his party but looks set to take the top post.
Detractors included former state Congress chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and the bone of contention for the opposition amongst them included the Congress’s poor show in Mr Reddy’s Lok Sabha constituency, as well allegations of corruption.
Reddy faced considerable challenges in his political life when he was allegedly caught on camera trying to bribe a nominated MLA to vote in favour of the TDP in a legislative council election, back in 2015.
He was sent to a jail in Hyderabad but was released on bail.
Reddy, an arts graduate and football lover, considered to be close to Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, was briefly associated with K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR)-led BRS (then TRS) and then the TDP.
Reddy was first elected to a political office as an independent in 2006 when he was elected as a Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) member. He was elected to the legislative council in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2007 as an independent.
Reddy then joined the TDP and became a confidante of party chief and former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly on a TDP ticket in 2009 and later in 2014 for newly-instated Telangana.
BRS leaders attack him for changing parties and brought up the bribery allegations, also accusing Reddy of being an ‘agent’ of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi targetted him over his ABVP association.
Reddy lost the 2018 Assembly poll to the BRS and was out of the public eye for a bit.
He later quit the TDP, joining the Congress in 2017-18. Reddy was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2019 elections from Malkajgiri.
Reddy was appointed the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president in 2021 in spite of many seniors present in the state Congress unit.
Reddy had a difficult challenge of reviving the fortunes of the Congress and working across party lines at a time when the BRS took over the reins in the 2018 Assembly polls, taking 12 Congress MLAs with them in 2019.
As the BJP scored major wins in the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election during 2020 and 2021, making inroads in the state, Reddy continued to lead the party until the Karnataka elections in May turned the tide.
After the Karnataka win, the momentum gained helped in Telangana, especially as public perception shifted in view of a possible tacit BJP-BRS relationship, as former CM KCR’s daughter Kavitha was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
The swearing-in ceremony for Reddy, which was to take place last afternoon, was called off after the internal protests within the Congress and may take place in the next few days.