The Congress has more or less decided to fill four of the six vacant berths in the Cabinet, keeping the remaining two slots vacant for future exigencies.
Published Mar 25, 2025 | 3:36 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 25, 2025 | 3:36 PM
The state leaders held a lengthy discussion on Cabinet expansion with the party high command on Monday.
Synopsis: The frontrunners for the four berths are P Sudarshan Reddy (Bodhan, Nizamabad), K Rajagopal Reddy (Munugode, Nalgonda), Gaddam Vivek (Chennur, Adilabad), and Vakikti Srihari Mudhiraj (Makthal, Mahabubnagar).
The ruling Congress party in Telangana is likely to expand the A Revanth Reddy Cabinet before Ugadi, the Telugu New Year day, on 30 March.
The Cabinet expansion has been hanging fire for some time.
It has been understood that Congress has more or less decided to fill four of the six vacant berths in the Cabinet, keeping the remaining two slots vacant for future exigencies.
The expansion in all likelihood might take place before Ugadi.
The frontrunners for the four berths are P Sudarshan Reddy (Bodhan, Nizamabad), K Rajagopal Reddy (Munugode, Nalgonda), Gaddam Vivek (Chennur, Adilabad), and Vakikti Srihari Mudhiraj (Makthal, Mahabubnagar).
The party high command discussed Cabinet expansion with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Irrigation Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, and PCC President B Mahesh Kumar Goud till late into the night of Monday, 24 March.
Party top leader Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal, and party state in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan attended the meeting and they elicited the views of state leaders on not only Cabinet expansion but also other issues like the appointment of a new executive for the PCC.
After the meeting, Mahesh Kumar Goud told the waiting media persons that a long and thorough discussion had taken place on Cabinet expansion, appointment of a new executive for the PCC, and filling the posts of chairmen of corporations.
“The party high command sought our views on various issues and information on welfare and development projects being implemented in Telangana, particularly integrated schools. The final decision on Cabinet expansion rests with the party high command,” he said.
According to sources, the party leadership is considering various factors before finalising the Cabinet members. These include balancing caste equations and ensuring representation for districts currently unrepresented in the Cabinet.
At present, Rangareddy, Hyderabad, Adilabad, and Nizamabad have no representation. This apart, there is no representation for minorities.
The chief minister is understood to have strongly advocated for the inclusion of Makthal legislator and Backward Community leader Vakiti Srihari Mudhiraj.
Srihari, a close associate of Revanth Reddy, was promised a Cabinet berth in public during the elections.
Revanth Reddy is reportedly confident that the party high command will heed his request, as Srihari belongs to the populous Mudhiraj community, to which BJP Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender also belongs.
The party appears to have reconciled with the idea of allowing over-representation for Nalgonda by including Munogode MLA K Rajagopal Reddy, the brother of Roads and Buildings minister K Venkata Reddy.
The Congress seems to have no alternative, as during the Lok Sabha elections, it promised Rajagopal Reddy a Cabinet position in return for his efforts in securing a victory for the Congress nominee from Bhongir, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Rajagopal Reddy, a former MP with extensive contacts, played a key role in ensuring Kiran Kumar Reddy’s victory. However, the party’s promise to induct him into the Cabinet remained unfulfilled.
Initially, the party deferred his inclusion in the Revanth Reddy Cabinet as it was hesitant to have both brothers. Furthermore, including Rajagopal Reddy would make Nalgonda ministers-heavy, similar to Khammam, which already has three ministers in the Cabinet.
Before Congress came to power in 2023, Revanth Reddy and Rajagopal Reddy had a strained relationship. It was due to Revanth Reddy’s “dominance” that Rajagopal Reddy left Congress, resigned his MLA seat, and joined the BJP, only to lose the by-election to the BRS.
However, ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, he rejoined Congress, contested from Munugode, and won. Since then, he has been lobbying for a Cabinet berth.
Interestingly, over time, Revanth Reddy and Rajagopal Reddy seem to have reconciled. At the Delhi meeting with senior Congress leaders, Revanth Reddy reportedly lobbied for Rajagopal Reddy’s inclusion in the Cabinet.
More than any love for Rajagopal Reddy, Revanth Reddy is believed to be trying to counter the growing influence of another senior minister, N Uttam Kumar Reddy.
Previously, Uttam Kumar Reddy was in the anti-Revanth camp, but after being given a key ministerial portfolio, he aligned with Revanth. However, Revanth Reddy remains wary of the influence Uttam Kumar Reddy wields within the party high command.
At the meeting, Revanth Reddy is also understood to have insisted on inducting P Sudarshan Reddy from Nizamabad. Apart from being a close associate of the chief minister, Sudarshan Reddy hails from a district that currently has no representation in the Cabinet.
The party is also actively considering Gaddam Vivek, MLA from Chennur (Adilabad district). Vivek, a Mala (Scheduled Caste) leader with vast financial resources, was promised a Cabinet berth during the Assembly elections.
Though his inclusion may trigger protests from the Madiga community, the party appears committed to honouring its promise. This decision might pose a challenge for the government, which has been advocating Madiga-friendly policies and SC sub-categorisation as a key agenda.
If the party decides to fill all the six Cabinet vacancies, it may include an ST and a Muslim. The leadership is also considering filling the posts of deputy speaker and chief whip.
The deputy speaker post might go to an ST, while the chief whip position is likely to be given to Adi Srinivas, the MLA from Vemulawada.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).