HYDERABAD: The much-awaited expansion of the Revanth Reddy Cabinet is likely to be postponed further.
The announcement of the schedule for Assembly elections for Maharashtra and Jharkhand may force the ruling party to reshuffle its priorities and put the Cabinet expansion on hold for some more time. The party has already suffered a defeat in Haryana and it has to get its act together for the two poll-bound states.
According to sources in the Congress, Cabinet expansion may not take place at least till November-end. It looks as though the Congress leadership does not want to experiment on inclusions in Cabinet at a time when it has to prepare the party apparatus for Maharashtra and Jharkhand for the polls.
The sources are doubtful whether expansion would take place even after November as by then, the party in the state would be busy with the local body elections which might be held before the caste census the government is taking up.
Though the prospects of early expansion of the Cabinet are dim at the moment, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, nonetheless, might try to get clearance from the party high command when he visits Delhi to attend the CWC meeting on Wednesday. Party sources said that any changes in the composition of the Cabinet might have some kind of impact on Maharashtra which is Telangana’s neighbour.
Those who are seeking Cabinet berths may have to wait a little longer though their patience is now a little overstretched. They have been hoping for their inclusion in the Cabinet for the last 10 months. Each time the party leaders make a supplication to the party high command for Cabinet expansion, pat comes the reply: “Kya jaldi hai (What is the hurry)?”
This apart, the party high command has given the responsibility to some of the ministers from Telangana to oversee the election campaign in Maharashtra and Jharkhand states. However, the aspirants are still looking beyond Vindhyas with hope that the party leadership would reward them with Cabinet berths.