HYDERABAD: More than six months after he took over charge, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday hinted at expanding his cabinet.
The expansion, sources said, is also likely to see some serving ministers lose their posts for ‘under-performance’. At present, the portfolios of several important departments like municipal administration and urban development have not been allotted to anyone. Besides, some districts are neither represented at all or ill-represented now.
Several aspirants are guessing over their prospects and some are making a strong pitch for their inclusion, the sources said.
On Thursday, Rao dropped enough hints that new ministers would join the cabinet. Speaking at a foundation-laying of Banjara Bhavan at Banjara Hills here, he said, “There is Scheduled Tribe Sub-Plan for your development. All funds under this Sub-Plan should reach you. For this, a Girijan (tribal) person should be there in the ministry. A tribal will be inducted into the cabinet whenever it is expanded,” he said. Rao’s cabinet does not have a tribal MLA. Similarly, no MLA from Mahbubnagar was given a place in the cabinet while elected representatives from some districts like Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy are not happy over their district not being represented adequately.
While KCR and irrigation minister T Harish Rao represent Medak, KT Rama Rao and Etela Rajender hail from Karimnagar. Districts like Ranga Reddy, Nizamabad, Nalgonda and Adilabad have only one representation in the state cabinet and there are several aspirants from these districts who are waiting for cabinet expansion.