The prolonged lull after bouts of hectic activity in the Congress camp both at Hyderabad and Delhi for cabinet expansion and filling the TPCC president’s post is getting on the nerves of the hopefuls.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is abroad for 10 days, hunting for investments. After a blistering attack on the BRS in the budget session of the Telangana Assembly which concluded on 2 August, Revanth Reddy is now in an alien land, wooing NRIs and CEOs for investments in Hyderabad.
It appears the cabinet expansion exercise stopped midway on account of the complicated tangle that the process has turned into. The AICC leaders got their knickers into a twist unable to sort out the problem of too many aspirants chasing too few berths and each one is either a heavyweight himself in the party or has backed one. At present six berths are lying vacant while the cabinet headed by Revanth Reddy has 12 members including the CM himself.
Whom to choose and how to?
For instance, the party does not know how it can accommodate Manucode MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy in the cabinet when his brother Venkata Reddy is already in. Similarly, it is unable to come to grips with the problem of choosing between two MLA brothers – Gaddam Vivek (Chennur) and Gaddam Vinod (Bellampally) – for a berth in the cabinet. Vivek’s son Vamsi Krishna is already an MP from Peddapally.
There is also speculation going around that the party high command does not appear to go exclusively by Revanth Reddy’s suggestion. It wants to take feedback on probables from other senior leaders of the party including deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers Komatireddy Venkata Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy.
As the delay appears interminable, those who have been waiting patiently for the promised positions of power are swamped by dark clouds of depression. Those in the cabinet have set their eyes on the PCC president’s post, while the MLAs, who believe they deserve to be in the cabinet, are wondering when the dame fortune would smile at them.
In early July, it appeared that the cabinet expansion and filling of the PCC post were about happen any moment. The probables took the available flights out of Hyderabad to Delhi to be around when the party takes a decision on filling the cabinet posts. Though it looked imminent, the process has suddenly has been put off.
Revanth Reddy’s tenure as PCC president
As Revanth Reddy’s term as PCC President ended on 7 July, it was thought that the party would pick a name to step into Revanth Reddy’s shoes. He had told the party high command that he wants to be relieved of the additional responsibility of serving as PCC President to enable him to focus exclusively on administration as the chief minister of the state.
In one of his trips to Delhi, Revanth had made a request to party top brass – Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and KC Venugopal. Revanth Reddy also said he was not recommending any name and let the PCC take its decision. It was assumed that the post would be filled soon along with the vacancies in the cabinet besides naming a few MLAS, who do not make the cut for the cabinet, for the government-run corporations.
Revanth Reddy plays safe
Revanth Reddy had played safe by saying that he did not recommend any name to be his successor as PCC president. He knows that if he recommends a name, others in the race would get angry and he does not want to face angry leaders in his party at a time when he has just settled down as the chief minister of the state.
For the AICC, picking a name for the PCC post is not easy. Apart from BC leaders former MP Madhu Yashki Goud, and MLC B Mahesh Kumar Goud, there are also ministers who want to head the PCC. They included Sithakka alias D Anasuya, and former MLA SA Sampath Kumar, who is SC madiga.
The party leaders said that there was nothing amiss at the Delhi and that the exercise has been halted mid-way because of the commencement of Lok Sabha and Assembly sessions.
“Now Revanth Reddy is abroad. The exercise may not move forward until he returns,” one senior leader of the party told #Khabarlive. He dismissed as baseless the reports that Revanth Reddy does not draw as much water as he used to, with the party high command in the past, for the delay.
“Where did Revanth Reddy fail to lose his influence in the party high command? He has been taking all factions in the party along, not hurting one,” he said and attributed the delay only to leaders at Delhi and Hyderabad being busy on account of Lok Sabha and Assembly sessions.
The grapes have not turned sour for the aspirants, not yet. #hydkhabar
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