HYDERABAD: Suspense hangs over the state Cabinet expansion as none of the aspirants has got any confirmation either from the state leadership or the high command, leading to disappointment among those waiting for the all-important call from Delhi.
Sources stated that the Cabinet expansion is likely to be put on hold until the conclusion of the ongoing Parliament session on April 4 as AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will be busy till then.
Meanwhile, a section of the Congress leaders is said to be unhappy over the reports of Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy and Chennur MLA Vivek Venkataswamy being considered for Cabinet posts.
A few leaders are pinning their hopes on the party high command to help them land a ministerial berth, recalling the assurances they reportedly received from the leadership in the past.
A senior leader said that some leaders as well as ministers are expressing their objection to the idea of appointing two members of the same family as ministers. Komatireddy Venkat Reddy is already a minister and inducting his brother Rajagopal Reddy will invite criticism from the BRS, which is being labelled as a party controlled by a family.
Vijayashanthi eyeing berth
According to sources, the party leaders are working out ways of filling minority quota while Ameer Ali Khan, who has been appointed as an MLC under the Governor’s quota, is leaving no stone unturned to find a place in the Cabinet.
Further complicating the matters, newly-elected MLC Vijayashanthi is also lobbying for a place in the Cabinet.
Growing list of aspirants from the Reddy community is also said to be making matters worse for the party high command. For instance, MLAs from Rangareddy district Malreddy Ranga Reddy (Ibrahimpatnam) and Tammannagari Rammohan Reddy (Parigi) are also testing their luck at a time when the party is going to town about its commitment to providing 42 per cent reservations for BCs in jobs and educational institutions. It will definitely boomerang on the party if it appoints two Reddys as ministers.
Moreover, former minister and Bodhan MLA P Sudharshan Reddy is also expecting a ministerial post as Nizamabad district does not have a representation in the Cabinet. So he has high hopes of getting support from both the high command and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
Madigas deamand
On the other hand, MLAs from the SC (Madiga) community have written to AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, seeking priority to them in Cabinet expansion over Malas, arguing that they represent 60 lakh population in the state.
BC MLAs Vakiti Srihari, hailing from the Mudiraj community, and Aadi Srinivas of Munnuru Kapu, are among the aspirants as there is no representation in the Cabinet from the two dominant BC communities.
As all these permutations and combinations are posing a challenge to the Congress high command, there is an uncertainty over the Cabinet expansion. Clarity is likely to emerge in the first or second week of April. Sources stated that the high command is likely to call the chief minister as well as Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud once again to Delhi next week to discuss the issue.