Meanwhile, the Opposition BRS and the BJP are taking advantage of the growing frustration among the aspirants to improve their prospects ahead of the panchayat elections.
Published May 22, 2025 | 5:47 PM ⚊ Updated May 22, 2025 | 5:47 PM
The Telangana ministers after taking their oath. (X)
Synopsis: The delay in filling various posts in Telangana, including positions in the state Cabinet, has left aspirants fuming and signalled internal discord within the Congress. There is an inherent risk that prolonged delays could strain the party’s unity in Telangana and, consequently, affect future election results.
The interminable delay in the reconstitution of the Telangana Congress committee, appointments to the nominated posts in the government, and the expansion of the state cabinet appear to be getting on the nerves of aspirants within the party.
Though there are indications that the wheels of the Congress juggernaut will begin moving at the end of May or by early June, many are far from convinced, given the party’s history of letting issues simmer.
According to sources, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy might visit Delhi in a couple of days, where a decision may be taken on cabinet expansion and the remaining issues like reconstitution of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) and the filling of nominated posts.
Party sources say that the top brass may take a call on the reconstitution of the PCC to begin with. This bottom-up approach is expected to reduce dissidence, which the party fears most. It hopes that those who do not make it onto the party’s list could aspire for nominated posts in the government.
Then, the big event — cabinet expansion— will follow shortly, filling the six vacant seats in the state cabinet.
At a time when there were clear indications that the party leadership in Delhi was about to decide on cabinet expansion, the escalation of tensions between Pakistan and India following Operation Sindoor threw a spanner into the calculations of the aspirants.
The long delay, attributed to the slow decision-making process of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), is making the aspirants, including MLAs, senior leaders, and party workers, climb the walls.
The dilly-dallying is perceived to have strained the party and is casting doubt over how well it would be able to take on the challenge of winning a majority of the panchayats and municipalities, for which elections are likely to be held this year, and early next year for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
On Wednesday, 21 May, Telangana Mahila Congress President Mogili Sunitha Rao was served a show cause notice by All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba for staging a dharna outside the chamber of TPCC president at the Gandhi Bhavan on 14 May.
Sunitha Rao was furious with PCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud for trying to shift the responsibility to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy whenever she asked when Mahila Congress activists, who worked hard for the party, would be rewarded with government sinecures. Alka Lamba, in her show cause notice, asked Sunitha Rao to submit her explanation within the next seven days or face action.
The Congress appears overly worried about the possible fallout of the expansion, as no one knows what those who do not cut would do. However, the delay is fraught with the prospect of much more damage to the party. The party is doing what comes naturally to anyone caught between Scylla and Charybdis — putting it off to gain time and ward off the inevitable to a later date.
For instance, the party is unable to wriggle out of the mess it created for itself when it promised a cabinet berth to Munugodu MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. It had made the promise in return for his support in getting the party’s official candidate, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, to win from the Bhongir Lok Sabha seat, which he did.
Now, the party has to keep its promise, but doing so would add to the already Reddy-heavy cabinet and fuel the fire that the party top brass is favouring the Komatireddy brothers, as his elder brother Venkat Reddy is already in the cabinet.
Apart from this, the representation of Nalgonda district would increase to three. This would also give scope for Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy to exert pressure on the party leadership for the inclusion of his wife, Padmavathi, into the cabinet — which may not be possible.
Meanwhile, the Opposition BRS and the BJP are taking advantage of the growing frustration among the aspirants to improve their prospects ahead of the panchayat elections.
The BRS is already in a hyperactive mode, attacking the Congress aggressively on every lapse in governance, however small it might be. The BJP is also going about increasing its footprint in its own way, leveraging mostly Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s growing macho image — particularly after Operation Sindoor and obtaining a clear upper hand in the Indo-Pak conflict.
Ever since B Mahesh Kumar Goud was appointed as president of the TPCC, the next most important step has not yet taken place, leaving key leadership positions such as working presidents, vice presidents, general secretaries, and district-level office bearers vacant.
Party leaders fear that the delay in reconstituting the TPCC is hampering the party’s ability to strengthen its roots in villages ahead of local elections. It is imperative that the party should have a robust structure to deal with the resurgent BRS and the BJP, but the AICC continues to remain a prisoner of its own indecision.
The filling of nominated posts in the government remains largely incomplete, causing significant discontent among party loyalists.
Many senior leaders and workers who campaigned for the Congress’s victory in the 2023 Assembly elections expected these appointments as rewards for their loyalty. The lack of progress continues to fuel frustration, as aspirants see these delays as a missed opportunity to strengthen the party’s grassroots support.
The Telangana cabinet, which can accommodate up to 18 ministers, including the chief minister, under constitutional limits, has only 12 members. This leaves six vacant berths, creating intense competition among Congress MLAs.
The party high command, which has to take a call on the expansion of the cabinet, has held several parleys with the senior leadership of the party at the state level, including the chief minister, but has not gotten around to filling the posts.
This prolonged delay is making the aspiring MLAs restless, who see cabinet positions as recognition of their contribution to the party. Not very long ago, Ibrahimpatnam MLA Malreddy Ranga Reddy said: “I would not hesitate to resign if I am not accommodated in the Cabinet, and if I do not deserve a seat at the table, then none does.”
The party is also said to still be grappling with the problem of balancing caste and regional representation before finalising the expansion of the cabinet. With four current ministers, including Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, from the Reddy community, there is pressure to appoint leaders from Backwards Class (BC), Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and minority communities to ensure inclusivity.
The AICC’s failure to act has heightened tensions among aspirants, who fear their communities or regions may be overlooked.
The MLAs, senior leaders, and party workers are becoming increasingly vocal about their dissatisfaction with the AICC’s indecision. The lack of clarity on cabinet berths, nominated posts, and TPCC roles has led to intense and continued lobbying with the party’s top brass in Delhi.
The inherent danger of prolonged delays straining the Congress’s unity in Telangana is coming true. The party is aware that unity was one of the main factors for its victory in the 2023 elections, and yet it is not paying much attention to the danger of forces pulling the party in different directions due to the delay in taking decisions.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
