PNS|Hyderabad
Ruling Congress MLAs G Vivek Venkata Swamy, Adluri Laxman Kumar, and Vakiti Srihari were sworn in as ministers in the Telangana government on Sunday, marking the first cabinet expansion under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered the oath of office and secrecy at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, his cabinet colleagues, MLAs, and other leaders were present on the occasion.
The induction of the three new ministers marks the end of weeks of speculation over the expansion of the council of ministers headed by Revanth Reddy. The appointment of the three new ministers and the deputy speaker reflected the focus of the ruling Congress on social justice.
It follows recent discussions between CM Revanth Reddy, state Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, and the AICC leadership in Delhi regarding cabinet appointments and party posts.
The full strength of the Telangana cabinet, including the Chief Minister, is 18.
With the induction of the three new ministers, the number of ministers rose to 15.
Following the induction of the three new ministers on Sunday, there are now three vacancies in the cabinet.
The appointment of state Congress office bearers, including the working president and others, has been pending since Goud took over as Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president in September 2024.
In a post on X, Reddy also congratulated party legislator Ramchander Naik on becoming the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Vivek and Laxman Kumar belong to SC (Mala) and SC (Madiga) communities, respectively, while Srihari is a leader who hails from the backward classes.
Ramchander Naik represents the ST community.
Vivek Venkata Swamy, son of late Congress veteran G Venkataswamy, is a senior leader who had served as a Lok Sabha member earlier.
Popularly known as Vivek, he started his political career with Congress but also worked with the BRS and BJP before returning to the Congress ahead of 2023 assembly elections.
Vivek had also served as the president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). Vivek’s elder brother, G Vinod, is an incumbent Congress MLA, while Vivek’s son Vamsi Krishna is a sitting Lok Sabha member.
In a bid to placate ministerial hopefuls who were left disappointed over their non-inclusion in the cabinet, AICC in charge of party affairs in Telangana, Meenakshi Natarajan, state Congress president Mahesh Kumar Goud visited the residences of Congress MLAs P Sudarshan Reddy and Prem Sagar, party sources said.
Cong launches pacification move
The Congress state leadership has launched an exercise to appease MLAs, who are disappointed at not getting a Minister post in the Cabinet expansion that took place on Sunday.
MLAs Adluri Laxman, Vakiti Srihari and Vivek got berths in the Cabinet, and they took oath on Sunday at the Raj Bhavan. However, MLAs P. Sudharshan Reddy, K. Premsagar Rao, Malreddy Ranga Reddy and Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy didn’t get berths and they are deeply disappointed.
The AICC’s TG in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, and TPCC chief B. Mahesh Kumar Goud entered the scene to pacify them. They spoke to Malreddy Ranga Reddy and made him cancel his press conference scheduled at Sunday 5 pm. Later, Mahesh Kumar Goud and Minister Ponnam Prabhakar went to Malreddy Ranga Reddy’s residence and explained the situation.
Meenakshi Natarajan, CM’s Advisor Vem Narender Reddy, Mahesh Kumar Goud and Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Rajya Sabha Member Anil Kumar Yadav went to Sudarshan Reddy’s residence on Sunday to pacify him as he was deeply disappointed at not getting a chance to join the Cabinet, as he had hoped that he will get a Minister post.
It is learnt that Meenakshi explained to Sudarshan about why he did not get a chance in the Cabinet expansion. She said the MLAs were selected to meet the need to maintain social balance.
Cooling down after Meenakshi’s appeasement attempt, Sudarshan said that he will obey the high command’s decision.
Later, they went to Prem Sagar Rao’s residence.
