Telangana Cabinet reshuffle unlikely till after monsoon session

HYDERABAD: For all the talk around the next Cabinet reshuffle, the message coming from the Congress camp on Thursday was that there may be no immediate expansion or reshuffle. At least, not before the monsoon session of the Assembly ends.

The question now doing the rounds among Congress MLAs, MLCs and leaders is whether the government will undertake a full reshuffle or simply fill the three vacancies, including the one created by Konda Surekha’s removal.

The appointments announced on Thursday may have offered the first clue. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy moved quickly to fill three important government positions with women leaders, including BC representatives. For party insiders, that looks more like an exercise in managing the immediate political fallout than the beginning of a Cabinet overhaul.

Behind the scenes, however, discussions on a broader reshuffle have already been under way. Sources said Revanth, AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, TPCC president G Mahesh Kumar Goud and other senior leaders have discussed the issue with AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal.

The broad idea, according to the sources, is to settle the Cabinet as a team that can take the Congress into the next Assembly election. But timing is proving to be the problem.

The monsoon session of the Assembly is scheduled to begin on September 7. Making changes to the Cabinet just before the session could create another round of political adjustments when the government is expected to concentrate on legislative business.

Sources said the high command had therefore suggested that the exercise be taken up either next month or towards the end of September.

There is another consideration.

Reshuffle could see key portfolios too being changed

Revanth has reportedly told the high command that the three vacancies could be filled after the Assembly session, allowing the government to concentrate on governance and implementation of welfare schemes rather than getting drawn into repeated discussions over Cabinet expansion and other political appointments.

A reshuffle, whenever it happens, is expected to involve changes in portfolios as well. Social and regional representation will have to be factored in, particularly after Surekha’s exit.

Rangareddy and Nizamabad districts are also expected to figure in the discussions. The party is looking at ways of providing representation to both areas while also accommodating another woman MLA or MLC in the Cabinet.

A BC MLA is among the possibilities being discussed. Nizamabad is another point of discussion, with names such as P Sudarshan Reddy and Mahesh Goud figuring in different combinations. In Rangareddy, there has been speculation about whether Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar or another MLA could be accommodated.

Nothing, however, appears to have been finalised.

For now, the emerging view in Congress circles is that the Cabinet exercise can wait. The Assembly session comes first, with the reshuffle likely to be considered either after the session or towards the end of this month or next month.

In politics, sometimes keeping the chair empty for a while is easier than deciding who should sit in it.