HYDERABAD: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is likely to fill up several nominated posts after the MLC elections in December. It may be remembered that prior to Huzurabad Assembly bypoll in October, the Chief Minister started the exercise to fill nominated posts for which hundreds of leaders in TRS have been waiting since 2018.
The Chief Minister appointed the chairman for Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), chairman and members for BC Commission and chairman for SC Corporation. Still, there are nearly 500 nominated posts in various state government corporations and undertakings.
In the first term of the TRS government between June 2014 and December 2018, the Chief Minister filled nominated posts. But after retaining power for the second term in December 2018, he has kept appointment of nominated posts pending. With this, those who were appointed in his first term also retired as the tenure of nominated posts normally ranges up to three years.
The Chief Minister did not focus on nominated posts in his second term due to successive elections such as gram panchayat elections in January 2019, Lok Sabha polls in April 2019, ZPTC/ MPTC polls in June 2019, municipal elections in January 2020 coupled with Covid first wave in March 2020, Dubbak Assembly bypoll in November 2020, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls in December 2020, Nagarjunasagar bypoll, municipal polls in April 2021 and Huzurabad bypoll in November 2021.
The Chief Minister has not been able to focus on filling the nominated posts since 2018 while hundreds of senior TRS leaders are eagerly waiting to bag those posts. The delay in appointments led to resentment among aspirants which the Opposition parties are trying to exploit, party sources say.
The ongoing MLC election code ends on December 14 and the Chief Minister wants to initiate the exercise of filling nominated posts soon after, it is learnt. According to party sources, the move is also to check disgruntled leaders in TRS planning to switch over to Opposition parties.
A few disgruntled leaders in TRS including party's state secretary Gattu Ramachandra Rao and Karimnagar former mayor Ravinder Singh recently quit TRS after they were denied MLC posts.
Opposition BJP and Congress leaders are openly stating that a few senior TRS leaders are in touch with them and are expected to quit the TRS and join their parties any time.
After Bandi Sanjay became BJP state president and A. Revanth Reddy became TPCC president, there have been attempts to lure TRS leaders into their parties.
TRS leadership wants to check 'Operation Akarsh' by the BJP and the Congress aimed at luring disgruntled TRS leaders into their folds. The party wants to prevent exodus of the TRS leaders into Opposition parties by rewarding them with nominated posts.
