The Congress has a lot of things to consider, including the old guard and leaders from which district and which caste to pick for the Cabinet.
Published Dec 05, 2023 | 5:33 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 05, 2023 | 5:34 PM
CM Revanth Reddy- Mallikarjun Kharge (X)
There is intense speculation on what the new Telangana Cabinet would look like as the Congress forms the government in the state.
The old guard — Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, N Utam Kumar Reddy, and Komatireddy Venkata Reddy — who were competing with Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy for the coveted post of chief minister have grudgingly consented to his coronation but not without fighting for their pound of flesh.
Meanwhile, even the other leaders are wondering who — from each district and which caste — would be inducted into the Cabinet.
Highly placed sources in Congress said Revanth Reddy will be the party’s first chief minister in Telangana.
The swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held on Thursday in the presence of senior AICC leaders.
With Revanth in the lead, other senior leaders of the party have demanded plump posts in the cabinet.
Revanth may prefer to have his way when it comes to picking his team members. But he may have to accommodate a couple of others from his rival camp as well because the Congress may not give him full freedom.
Choosing MLAs would be a difficult exercise for Revanth, as the number of Cabinet members cannot exceed 18 — including himself.
The problem he would face is that he would be handicapped if the entire old guard was in the Cabinet. This is because he would have little freedom in making decisions.
He might want to have new blood, which the party’s national leadership had been pushing for lately. Thus, it looks like the new Cabinet would be a mix of old and new faces.
He would also have to balance equations, ensuring no particular caste got too much representation and no caste — particularly the numerically large Backward Classes — was totally ignored.
Then he would have the problem of not taking too many from the same district regardless of how capable, senior, or popular they might be.
Take for instance the Nalgonda and Khammam districts, where picking MLAs for the Cabinet might become dicey.
Nalgonda, has the Komatireddy brothers — Venkat Reddy and Rajagopal Reddy — besides N Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife Padamavathy.
Even if Uttam is appointed the PCC President, his wife would have to be taken into the Cabinet to satisfy him in case his bid for the chief minister’s position comes unstuck.
In Khammam, Revanth would have to inevitably take two leaders from among Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Thummala Nageswara Rao, and Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
Though Vikramarka is a contender for the top post of chief minister, he would have to be taken into the Cabinet — necessarily with an important portfolio — regardless of whether his efforts bore fruit, as he is a Dalit.
Meanwhile, Ponguleti is likely to be in the Cabinet and Thummala might be considered for the Speaker’s post.
In Warangal, three women MLAs merit inclusion in the Cabinet. Former minister and BC MLA Konda Surekha, ST MLA Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka, and Mamidala Yashashwini Reddy, a young woman who has slain a giant in the form of former minister Errabilli Dayakar Rao in Palakurthy.
Each of them is eligible to be included in the Cabinet based on their own merits — Konda Surekha being a former minister, Seethakka being a popular leader among tribals, and Yashaswini Reddy, though a first timer, for being young and able to contribute to the youth quotient of the Cabinet.
From Medak, the elephant in the room — former deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha — has to be taken since he is from an SC community belonging to Madiga sub-caste.
As Bhatti would be in, Damodar had to be accommodated as well to appear to have balanced both the sub-castes.
The Congress does not have a Muslim MLA to be included in the Cabinet, with the Muslim faces of the party, Shabbir Ali and Feroze Khan, losing in Nizamabad Urban and Nampally, respectively. In all likelihood, Shabbir would be taken into the Cabinet and later given a berth in the Legislative Council.
In Karimnagar, former MP Ponnam Prabhakar, a BC Gouda who won from Husnabad, might be taken into the Cabinet.
Konda Surekha would satisfy the requirement for representation to BCs, besides being a woman and a senior leader who once held a Cabinet berth.
Former minister and Manthani MLA D Sridhar Babu cannot be ignored either, and would add a number of the upper-caste group to the Cabinet if taken as he belongs to the Brahmin community.
In the Adilabad district, Kokkirala Premsagar Rao from Mancherial is likely to find his way into the cabinet, though he has competition from the same caste leader from Mahabubngar, Jupally Krishna Rao of Kollapur, since both of them are Velamas.
In Adilabad, another important face is Vivek Venkataswamy, who won from Chennur.
Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy — soon possibly the party’s only member in the 40-member Telangana Legislative Council — lost the Assembly election from Jagtial, but cannot be ignored. He is a former minister and might be included in the list.
There are two vacancies in the Council under the Governor’s quota. If Congress MLC Kasireddy Narayan Reddy resigns as he is elected to the Assembly from Kalwakurthy, the number of vacancies will go up to three.
For the time being, if the party wants to accommodate those who were defeated in the Assembly elections or pick up an apolitical personality, it has to be done in these three seats.
In the Legislative Council, 14 members (one-third) are elected by MLAs: They currently include 13 from the BRS and one from the AIMIM.
Another 14 members are elected from local authorities: Of them, currently 13 are from the BRS and one is from the AIMIM.
Finally, six members (one-sixth) are nominated by the Governor. Of them, currently four are from the BRS and two seats are vacant.
Three members (one-12th) are elected by teachers of the state. Currently, one of them is from the BJP, while two others are unaffiliated.
Three members are elected by graduates. Currently, two of them are from the TRS, one is from the Congress.
It is also likely that Telangana Jana Samiti president M Kodandaram might be sent to the Rajya Sabha. If the Congress comes to power at the Centre after the 2024 elections, he might be taken into the Central Cabinet as well.
