Revanth under pressure for Cabinet expansion amid rising expectations
As the Congress government prepares to convene the Assembly sessions for next month’s budget presentation, the biggest political challenge it faces is the mounting pressure on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to expand his Cabinet.
Currently, the Cabinet comprises 12 Ministers, including the Chief Minister, with only six more slots available. This limited capacity requires careful navigation of the growing number of aspirants, balancing social and regional considerations, and managing influential figures with strong connections in New Delhi.
Mr. Reddy, as of now, is able to withhold the pressure citing the expected change in the PCC leadership as he completes his three-year term on July 7 as the PCC chief of Telangana. As the exercise for the new PCC leader gains momentum, it will naturally push the button for opening the Cabinet for new colleagues.
The aspirations are huge among the Backward Classes, particularly, the Mudiraj Community to whom the Chief Minister promised a berth during his Parliament election campaign. There is only one Mudiraj MLA, Srihari, representing Makthal constituency in the combined Mahbubnagar district.
He also has to keep the regional balance intact and strengthen the party where it is weak as was revealed in the recent Parliament polls. The party fared badly in Hyderabad and the adjoining districts where it lost Chevella and Mahabubnagar Parliament seats apart from Malkajgiri and Secunderabad, which are part of Hyderabad city. Moreover, there is no representation for Nizamabad and Adilabad districts too. The party is quite weak in Hyderabad city as well and it has to prepare for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls in the next one and a half years.
Given this combination, Chief Minister has to pick MLAs from Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Adilabad and the old Rangareddy districts at any cost. The Cabinet doesn’t have a Muslim face either. Erstwhile Nalgonda district has two Ministers — N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkata Reddy but his brother Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy is eyeing a Ministry, a promise made to him as he joined the Congress just before the elections.
However, the Chief Minister is able to withstand the pressure as of now citing the local body polls that are due next month. These polls are key to ensure that the main Opposition, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, doesn’t grow in strength and the CM wants to put the responsibility of winning on the MLAs for consideration for the Ministry.
Sources said Mr.Revanth Reddy was able to convince the party high command that the Cabinet expansion now may make the MLAs lackadaisical. The interest quotient is kept high as long as the berths are not occupied. The combination of change in PCC leadership, Assembly sessions and the local body polls will give some respite to the Chief Minister.
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