Kiran Reddy Set To Expand Cabinet

The selection of the cabinet will be a tightrope walk for the new Chief Minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy.

With many former ministers and legislators aspiring for ministerial berths, the choices are many for Kiran Kumar Reddy.

On one side, he has to face the challenge of reigning in the group aligned with rebel Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy, while on the other side, he has to face the daunting task of revitalizing the party ridden by dissidence.

According to sources, the High Command has picked Reddy keeping in mind his effective tackling of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu in the state Assembly on many occasions.

According to the Secretariat grapevine, the front runners for the ministerial berths in the KKR cabinet are senior Congress leaders DL Ravindra Reddy from Rayalaseema region, JC Diwakar Reddy from Telangana, and Y S Vivekananda Reddy, brother of former chief minister, the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

Former Information and Public Relations minister J Geetha Reddy will be made Deputy Chief Minister as part of Congress' strategy to balance the equation, and curb any possible dissatisfaction from Telangana people.

Either Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar or Disaster Management Member Marri Sashidhar Reddy will be made named Speaker of the Assembly.

Gade Venkata Reddy (Endowment) and Anam Ramnarayan Reddy (Municipal Administration) are also in the race for the Speaker's post.

Meanwhile, Botsa Satyanarayana (Panchayat Raj) is expected to be named as the new Pradesh Congress Committee president in the place of D Srinivas whose term has expired already.

Danam Nagender (Health) Sabitha Indra Reddy (Home) and Mukesh Goud (BC Welfare) will be reshuffled and offered new portfolios.

Former ministers loyal to Jaganmohan Reddy including Pilli Subhas Chandrabose and Balineni Srinivas will be axed for their 'anti-High Command' activities. The leaders from their districts have lodged a complaint against them and have written to the High Command in this regard.

Meanwhile, the first time MLAs are also demanding that they should be given a chance in the new cabinet.

If the Jagan group resorts to revolt against KKR, PRP president K Chiranjeevi can be relied on to extend support to the government. In this event, the Congress would offer a few ministerial berths to PRP leaders.

Even, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao has reportedly offered his support to the Congress in the event of the Congress declaring the formation of Telangana state.

Under the circumstance, the option for political analysts is to adopt a wait and watch policy.

Courtesy: INN