Tummala In Cabinet May Help TRS In Khammam

Khammam strongman and former minister Tummala Nageshwara Rao on Tuesday joined the cabinet of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.

Tummala, who defected from the TDP to the TRS on September 5, is an old friend of KCR and considered one of the most experienced politicians of Telangana.

He was elected to the Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly thrice from the Sathupalli constituency. However, he shifted to the Khammam seat in the 2014 elections and lost to P Ajay Kumar of the Congress Party.

He had served as the minister for major irrigation and excise in Chandrababu Naidu's cabinet.

By inducting Tummala as a minister in his cabinet, KCR has played a master-stroke by both taking a big step towards establishing the supremacy of the TRS in the Khammam district and also towards bringing the Kamma community closer to the Party.

The Khammam district proved to be the weakest point for the TRS in the 2014 general elections. Of the 10 Assembly constituencies in the district, the TRS was able to win just one seat - Kothagudem, where Jalagam Venkat Rao won the elections by defeating his nearest rival K Satyanarayana of the TDP.

While in the Pinapaka seat the TRS candidate Shanker Naik lost to P Venkateshwarlu of the YSR Congress by a margin of a little over 14,000 votes, the TRS failed to register its presence in the eight other seats of Yellandu, Khammam, Paleru, Madhira, Wyra, Sathupally, Aswaraopeta and Bhadrachalam.

In view of this dismal performance, KCR adopted an indirect strategy to strengthen the TRS in the Khammam district. Through "Operation Akarshan", the TRS started inducting MLAs, MLCs and other leaders belonging to the Congress, YSRCP and TDP into its fold, through which route it got Tummala, too, in. KCR then inducted Tummala into the Cabinet on Tuesday, a move calculated to both establish the TRS in the Khammam district and please the Kamma community which exists in large numbers in Khammam, Warangal, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Hyderabad.

Speaking to media persons after taking oath as minister, Tummala thanked the Chief Minister for his selection, and assured that he would play an active role in realising KCR's dream of Bangaru Telangana. (INN)