Kishan gets coal, Bandi is Shah deputy

Firebrand Telangana leader Bandi Sanjay will be a deputy to Union home minister Amit Shah. This was a post once held by Kishan Reddy.

The lone Cabinet minister from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, TD MP K. Rammohan Naidu, was assigned the ministry of civil aviation. The benefit the state may accrue out of the ministry is minimal as it is already exhausted its options to build airports.

The two ministers of state from AP, however, got portfolios of some use. Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar of the TD was allotted rural development and communications while BJP MP B. Srinivas Varma was given heavy industries and steel.

Kishan Reddy won the hearts of the Prime Minister and the second-in-command Amit Shah ever since he was inducted into the Cabinet in 2014. After serving as Shah’s deputy in home in the first stint, Kishan Reddy was elevated as MoS with independent charge in Modi’s second term. He got tourism and the crucial northeast states development. In Modi 3.0 he was allocated coal and mines.

Sanjay’s followers were elated over their leader getting an opportunity to be groomed by none other than Shah. Back in the state, the portfolio is expected to add to his aggressive approach and fits with the overall scheme of bringing the BJP to power in 2028 in Telangana.

Andhra Pradesh has airports in Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Kadapa and there is no scope for new airports. The TD leadership according to sources looked for portfolios like rural or urban development which would help the state get funds. However, the TD is unlikely to make an issue out of the portfolios and begin the journey with the big brother BJP under stress. “We will pitch for funds anyway with or without portfolios,” a senior leader pointed out.