Telangana Cabinet Reshuffle On The Cards?

There is intense speculation in the political circles, particularly among the TRS leaders, about the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle - additions and deletions - a little after the completion of the current budget session of the legislature.

The budget session is scheduled to come to an end on March 27.

There is a view in the TRS circles that a cabinet reshuffle is long overdue, and that it has somehow been getting postponed from time to time. Now that nearly three years of his term are getting over and only two years are left for the next elections, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is keen on revamping the cabinet to face the challenges ahead, they claim.

The Chief Minister is reported to be toying with the idea of rectifying certain mistakes which have given rise to criticism from the opposition parties. Induction of at least one woman if not two into the cabinet is one among them, particularly since the opposition parties are raising the issue frequently and trying to create an impression among the women that KCR is against women.

The Chief Minister has also already given an assurance to MLA Koppula Eashwar that he will include him into the cabinet. Thus, there is possibility of the induction of two or three new faces in the cabinet, and the consequential deletion of two or three ministers.

Sources indicate that the Chief Minister is thus planning to drop at least two ministers to make way for the inclusion of new ones. The CM giving ratings to the ministers and MLAs recently is an indication of this, they say.

These two or three could also be young and high-performing ministers who the Chief Minister will entrust the party responsibilities to instead, in order to rejuvenate the party and strengthen it from the grassroots.

Speculation in the party indicate that the Chief Minister might complete the exercise and effect the reshuffle by Sri Ramanavami, April 5.