Telangana: Healthy relay for Ministers in cabinet expansion

Hyderabad, Feb 18: Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to accommodate one MLA from each of the 10 undivided districts in the Cabinet.

Sources said KCR will have a team comprising old and new faces when he expands the Cabinet at 11.30 am on February 19. It is said that KCR can have 17 ministers in the Cabinet, 15 per cent of the TS Assembly size of 119.

Sources said the Telangana Chief Minister would likely enlist either A. Indrakaran Reddy or Jogu Ramanna, both former ministers, from Adilabad.

From Karimnagar, the choice would be between Koppula Eswar or former minister Etala Rajendar. Sources said Vemula Prashanth Reddy from Banswada in the erstwhile Nizamabad district could get the berth and from Mahbubnagar district the race was between Kodangal MLA P. Niranjan Reddy, who defeated the TPCC working president Revanth Reddy, or Srinivas Goud of Mahbubnagar.

From Nalgonda district, the TRS founder is considering inducting former minister Jagadishwar Reddy and giving a chance to MP Gutta Sukhender Reddy in the second round of Cabinet expansion which would be after the Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said that Khammam and Ranga Reddy districts would be given representation only in the second round. From Warangal, Mr Rao is considering Palakurthy legislator E. Dayakar Rao.

From Hyderabad, the race is seen as being between former ministers T. Srinivas Yadav and T. Padma Rao. One of them would be given a Cabinet berth and the other would be elevated as Deputy Speaker.

There is speculation that KCR was of the opinion that he would not induct any other MLA from Medak district as he himself is from the district.

There is speculation that the CM was of the opinion that he would not swear in any other MLA from Medak district as he himself is from the district. This only extends the suspense over the induction of TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao and former minister T. Harish Rao.

The Chief Minister made it clear that all new districts would get representation in the government by nominating legislators as party whips or by posting them as parliamentary secretaries.