Telangana: Key Congress meeting on Cabinet expansion in Delhi on Wednesday

Bhatti Vikramarka's visit gains significance after holding discussions with MLC T Jeevan Reddy who revealed his plans to quit the party and the post, miffed over Revanth Reddy's decision to admit his political rival and Jagtial MLA M Sanjay Kumar into the party fold.

Hyderabad: The Congress high command is likely to hold a key meeting on the long-awaited Cabinet expansion and other issues in Delhi on Wednesday. While Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and several other Ministers are already in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy also rushed to Delhi on Tuesday.

Bhatti Vikramarka’s visit gains significance after holding discussions with MLC T Jeevan Reddy who revealed his plans to quit the party and the post, miffed over Revanth Reddy’s decision to admit his political rival and Jagtial MLA M Sanjay Kumar into the party fold. The party leadership is also likely to discuss about the Chief Minister’s unilateral decisions in encouraging defection of leaders and elected representatives from other political parties which is drawing flak from various quarters.

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Ministers Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, D Seethakka, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, and Jupally Krishna Rao, are already stationed in Delhi. Several aspirants including MLAs Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, Malreddy Ranga Reddy, MLC Mahesh Kumar Goud and others are also learnt to have reached Delhi to lobby for considering them for a Ministerial berth.

Since the formation of the Congress government in Telangana on December 7 last year, Revanth Reddy restricted the Cabinet to 11 members, with key departments like Home, Education, and Municipal Administration among others remaining under the Chief Minister’s control. Despite the potential to appoint six more Ministers, the Congress leadership took a cautious approach in the wake of the Lok Sabha polls.

With the general election now concluded, the focus has shifted to governance. Reports suggest that decisions on ministerial appointments and IAS and IPS officer transfers are nearing completion.

Six new ministers are anticipated, with party insiders suggesting that two of them could be from the Reddy community, two from the BC community, one from the Lambadi community, and one from the minority community. Bodhan MLA P Sudarshan Reddy is reportedly a front-runner for the crucial Home Department.

Other Ministerial candidates include Ibrahimpatnam MLA Malreddy Ranga Reddy, Parigi MLA Rammohan Reddy, and Munugodu MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy. Two of these four Reddy leaders are likely to secure cabinet positions. Additionally, Maktal MLA Vakati Srihari Mudiraj and Aleru MLA Beerla Ilaiah are also contenders for Cabinet berths. MLC Mahesh Kumar Goud and Devarakonda MLA Balu Naik are also learnt to be under consideration. The party sources do not rule out accommodating another woman Minister in the Cabinet.