CM Revanth Reddy Appoints Key Advisors, Including Vemu Narender Reddy, Md Ali Shabbir

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday appointed his confidant Vemu Narender Reddy as adviser (public affairs) to the Chief Minister.

Revanth Reddy appointed veteran Congress leaders Md Ali Shabbir as government adviser, welfare of Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Tribes and minorities communities, Dr Mallu Ravi as special representative of Telangana state in national capital and Harkara Venugopal Rao as adviser to government (protocol and public relations).

All the four were accorded the rank of minister of state, and not Cabinet rank.

The appointments came as a shocker to Shabbir Ali and Ravi who were among the Congress leaders who had embraced Revanth Reddy in his early days in the party and had backed his candidature for the PCC. Sources said the Chief Minister accommodated Shabbir Ali as adviser after the party's central leadership made it clear that leaders who lost the Assembly polls would not be rewarded with Legislative Council seats.

The veteran minority leader had vacated his traditional Kamareddy Assembly seat, facilitating Revanth Reddy's contest against former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, and made an unsuccessful attempt from Nizamabad Urban in the recent elections.

Sources, however, said Shabbir Ali was upset over being given the rank of minister of state as he has served as Cabinet minister in 2004 in the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy government. He stayed away from the media following the announcement.

The chances of Ravi, who was tipped to be the party candidate from the Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha seat, were also said to have been closed with his appointment as Special Representative. Sources said a former colleague of Revanth Reddy in the Telugu Desam who later switched over to the BRS is likely to be fielded from Nagarkurnool in place of Ravi.

Narender Reddy was moving closely with Revanth Reddy ever since the latter became the PCC chief and was expecting a legislative post. However, the party high command seemed to have adopted the formula similar to Dr Rajasekhar Reddy whose confidant Dr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao had to content himself with the post of adviser (public affairs) till he got a Rajya Sabha nomination four years after coming to power in 2004.