Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has decided to induct into the Cabinet at least three of the 22 legislators who switched sides from the YSR Congress to the Telugu Desam.
Bhuma Nagireddy, Jaleel Khan and Sujaya Krishna Ranga Rao are the three legislators who are likely to be made Cabinet ministers later this month, according to sources.
The Chief Minister who had been critical of the induction of T. Srinivas Yadav, who was elected as an MLA from the TD, into the TRS Cabinet in 2014, has apparently decided to change his mind.
Sources said Mr Naidu has hinted about a Cabinet reshuffle to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan. “Initially there may be criticism on the induction of YSRC MLAs, which we have to face it politically. But constitutionally, there is no bar on inducting these MLAs into the Cabinet,” sources said.
The sources revealed that Mr Naidu will drop some members of the present Cabinet who have been inefficient and have not performed well. “Not only administratively, but politically we have to weigh a number of issues to strengthen the government and the party before the 2019 polls,” the source said.
While admitting that the two existing ministers who belong to the Reddy community have been unable to turn this into a major advantage for various personal reasons, the source said that inducting Bhuma Nagireddy (from the YSRC) and possibly Magunta Srinivasula Reddy from the TD, will help the party woo the community, especially in Rayalaseema and southern Coastal districts where the Reddy community has significant influence in electoral politics.
There is also a possibility that one more YSRC member, Palamnair MLA Amaranth Reddy, may be inducted into the Cabinet. But a lot depends on whether Mr Naidu decides to retain forest minister Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy, who has been ailing for a long time. “Mr Naidu will shuffle the Cabinet in such a way that it includes more members from SC, minorities and Reddy community and would allow him to marginalise the YSRC’s influence on them.”
