Sources said the front-runners were legislators G. Vivek Venkatswamy (Chennur), Vakiti Srihari (Makhtal), Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy (Munugode) and P. Sudharshan Reddy (Bodhan). Two berths in the Cabinet will still remain vacant
Hyderabad: The long-awaited Cabinet expansion of the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government is likely to take place on April 3, with the induction of four ministers, sources said on Tuesday.
Sources said the front-runners were legislators G. Vivek Venkatswamy (Chennur), Vakiti Srihari (Makhtal), Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy (Munugode) and P. Sudharshan Reddy (Bodhan). Two berths in the Cabinet will still remain vacant. Even after the expansion, as is stands now, Rangareddy and Hyderabad districts will remain unrepresented.
Vivek, from undivided Adilabad district, and hails from the Scheduled Castes (Mala) community. His inclusion will provide representation to Adilabad district in the Cabinet as well as the community.
Srihari, a first time legislator, is from the Backward Classes (Mudiraj) community, which currently lacks representation in the Cabinet.
The inclusion of Raj Gopal Reddy from undivided Nalgonda district will bring the number of ministers from the Reddy community from Nalgonda to three, joining his elder brother Komatireddy Venkat Reddy (roads and buildings minister) and N. Uttam Kumar Reddy (irrigation and civil supplies minister).
P. Sudarshan Reddy’s inclusion will provide representation to Nizamabad district in the Cabinet.
This will be the first Cabinet expansion since the Congress government assumed office on December 7, 2023. The Cabinet currently has 12 members, including the Chief Minister, while the total permissible strength is 18.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who met with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and party organisation general secretary K.C. Venugopal in Delhi on Monday to discuss the Cabinet expansion, returned to Hyderabad on Tuesday evening.
Revanth Reddy will attend the AICC meeting in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on April 8 and 9, along with Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and other ministers. He will then embark on a week-long tour of Japan from April 15-23 to attract investments to Telangana.
In the wake of this, the Cabinet expansion has been reportedly scheduled for April 3. With the expansion set to take place before these key engagements, the Congress leadership aims to strengthen the cabinet while maintaining regional and caste balance.
