HYDERABAD: At a time when MLAs from the Reddy community are demanding their inclusion in the A Revanth Reddy Cabinet, the Congress high command is reportedly considering allocating ministerial berths to two BC legislators. The leadership is also believed to be buying more time to fill the remaining four vacant berths.
Such a development is sure to disappoint the influential Reddy leaders, who were also denied nominations in the recent Member of Legislative Council (MLC) elections.
Highly placed party sources revealed that only two of the six vacant Cabinet berths are likely to be filled in the near future and both may go to leaders from BC communities.
The move appears to be aimed at boosting representation of BCs in the Cabinet, which currently includes just two members from the community. The addition of two BC ministers would increase their representation to roughly 30%.
By prioritising underrepresented communities, the Congress appears to be sending a clear message about its priorities.
This proposed rebalancing comes at a politically sensitive moment, as prominent Reddy leaders such as Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy and Ibrahimpatnam legislator Malreddy Ranga Reddy have openly voiced their aspirations for Cabinet berths. Their statements prompted the chief minister to convene a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting to restore internal discipline.
The Congress high command’s approach seems consistent with its recent strategy of promoting social justice through greater caste-based representation. In the recent MLC elections, all three party-backed nominations were allocated to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and BC candidates — a decision made despite strong lobbying from the state party unit for at least one Reddy nominee.
Notably, the Congress leadership, including Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, hailed the state government for conducting a caste survey and passing legislations to increase BC reservations to 42%.