Why Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and Telangana need a
cabinet expansion
Having been in office for 18 months, the noise surrounding
the cabinet expansion has hovered over the Congress government for the past few
months.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy (centre) at a Cabinet subcommittee meeting. (Supplied)
Published Apr 18, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 18, 2025 | 10:10 AM
- Synopsis: With only 12 ministers, the chief minister himself holds 12 portfolios in the government. A senior journalist noted that if the cabinet expansion continues to be delayed, it will negatively affect the departments in the long run.
Telangana witnessed some back-to-back political drama on 13
April and 14 April when two MLAs of the ruling Congress, aspiring to be
ministers in the Revanth Reddy-led Cabinet, took shots at other leaders and the
state leadership.
On 13 April, Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal aired dirty
laundry publicly. Taking a shot at former minister Jana Reddy’s bid for
representation, he said: “Jana Reddy, a minister for three decades, is now
citing the need for representation for Rangareddy and Hyderabad in the cabinet
to delay my entry.”
The next day, Mancherial MLA Prem Sagar Rao criticised the
leadership regarding the cabinet expansion. “Those who recently joined the
party, from BJP and BRS, are asking for Ministership, just like those who
didn’t even move during the padayatra,” the Mancherial MLA said.
“Those who came yesterday and the day before are trying to
suppress the voices of Adivasis, Dalits, other minorities, and even me,” he
alleged. He asked if he had not done enough for the party, warning that
misallocating ministerial berths could cost the party Mancherial.
Having been in office for 18 months, the noise surrounding
the cabinet expansion has hovered over the Congress government for the past few
months. With only 12 ministers, the chief minister himself holds 12 portfolios
in the government.
With speculation building as the days pass and the Delhi
visits stack, what does holding onto 12 ministries mean for Revanth
Reddy?
Also Read: Sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes comes into effect in
Telangana
Ministers and their portfolios
The Indian Constitution lists a set of guidelines regarding
the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers under Part VI – The States. As
per Article 164(1), “The chief minister shall be appointed by the Governor and
the other ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the
chief minister.”
This implies that all the portfolios lie with the chief
minister by default before allocation. Hence, even the Telangana State Portal
lists “Municipal Administration and Urban Development; General Administration,
Law & Order and all other unallocated portfolios” under the chief
minister’s portfolio.
Under Article 164(1A), the Constitution describes limits on
the number of ministers that can make up the cabinet. It holds that the number
shall not exceed fifteen percent, which, in Telangana’s case, is about 18
ministers. However, it clarifies that the limit is “Provided that the number of
ministers, including the Chief Minister in a State, shall not be less than
twelve.”
This leaves Telangana in an interesting position. It has the
bare minimum of 12 seats, however, it only has room for about 6 more.
During Prem Sagar Rao’s tirade on 14 April, he stressed that
outsiders were being rewarded with portfolios, overlooking the loyalists.
Notably, Revenue Minister Ponguletti Srinivas joined the Congress just ahead of
the 2023 polls. Similarly, Agriculture Minister Tummula Nageswara Rao joined
the Congress before the polls.
They were joined in the cabinet by a third turncoat, with
Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao also joining the Congress during the same
period.
The following is the list of portfolios under the chief
minister:
- Animal
Husbandry and Fisheries
- General
Administration (Political)
- Education
- Home
Affairs
- Labour,
Employment, Training, and Factories
- Law
- Minorities
Welfare
- Social
Welfare
- Tribal
Welfare
- Municipal
Administration and Urban Development
- Sports
- Public
Enterprises
‘Such trouble a hallmark of Congress’
Senior journalist CR Gowri Shanker noted that such trouble
in the cabinet is a hallmark of the Congress. The former political editor
at Deccan Chronicle, with over 40 years of experience, noted a key
difference between the Congress and BRS.
“BRS is a regional party. Erstwhile chief minister KCR could
decide who the Council of Ministers would be. However, the Congress is a
national party. It relies on the high command to allocate portfolios. And that
decision is subject to numerous gravitational forces with regard to regional
and community representation. That is apart from the expectations of longtime
Congress workers,” he explained.
He delved into these dynamics further. “There are a lot of
people with more experience than Revanth Reddy in the Congress. There are also
others vying for power, whether it’s the Nalgonda Reddys or the Komatireddy
brothers. They are all making movies to try and pressure the government for a
cabinet berth,” he elaborated.
“Take the example of Nalgonda, for instance, Minister
Komatireddy’s brother, Rajagopal, is vying for a portfolio. There are rumours
that Uttam Kumar Reddy is demanding a portfolio for his wife to maintain the
status quo,” he said.
“Even with Prem Sagar Rao, he is asking for an
acknowledgement of his work in the Congress. He sees people who entered the
party from other places getting MLA and Minitership opportunities,” he added.
“Even MLCs like Vijayshanthi and Amer Ali are throwing their
hat into the ring for a berth. Additionally, they have to accommodate BCs and
SCs,” he added.
He explained that the interaction of all these factors is
directly related to the delay in the cabinet expansion despite being in power
for over 18 months. Shanker noted that in the process, it is natural for one or
the other to be upset.
Also Read: Telangana MLA Rajagopal Reddy’s salvo at senior Congress leader
‘Delays imminent in day-to-day functioning’
Shanker said that, in the entirety of the situation, the
chief minister is in a state of helplessness because the Congress high command
decides who becomes minister and who does not.
“All 12 ministries under the chief minister are important,”
he stated.
“Because of the accumulation of portfolios under him, the
supervision of these portfolios is affected. The government is already fighting
numerous cases against the previous regime. The government would benefit from
having dedicated Ministers,” he said.
“Government officials cannot bring every file to the chief
minister. Being the CM, he is often busy with a lot of things, not just
official but also political. This will only lead to delays in the department’s
functioning. The department would benefit much more from a full-fledged
minister,” Shanker observed.
“If the cabinet expansion continues to get delayed, it will
negatively affect the departments in the long run. Not just that, it will also
lead to much discontent within the party,” he predicted.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
‘Jitni Aabaadi, Utni Haq’?: A tenth of Telangana’s
population lacks representation in the Cabinet
Seven out of the 119 legislators are Muslims, making them
5.8 percent of the Assembly. However, none of them are from the Congress.
Published Jun 15, 2025 | 2:41 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 15, 2025 | 2:41 PM
Fulfilling a key election promise made by the Congress
during the 2023 Telangana Assembly polls, the state government successfully
conducted what it hails as India’s largest socioeconomic survey.
Synopsis: The Congress fielded four
Muslim candidates in the Assembly polls, and all lost, practically ending the
possibility of a Muslim minister in the Revanth Reddy Cabinet.
“Jitni Aabaadi, Utni Haq” — as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
often reiterates, representation should be proportional to population.
But in Telangana, where Muslims make up over 12 percent of
the state’s population, the 15-member Cabinet does not have a single
representative from a minority community. This stands in sharp contrast to the
Congress’s renewed push for social justice, a plank on which it championed
Backward Classes, Scheduled Caste, and Scheduled Tribe representation while
forming the government.
The omission is more glaring when viewed through the lens of
Congress’s socioeconomic survey — popularly known as the caste census — which
revealed that Muslims number over 42 lakh in the state. Yet, the party has no
elected Muslim MLA or MLC. Incidentally, the Congress had fielded four Muslim
candidates. All of them lost.
Now, following the death of BRS MLA Chaganti Gopinath, the
Jubilee Hills by-election offers the party a narrow window. If a Muslim
candidate is fielded and wins, it could pave the way for long-awaited
representation. But with only three Cabinet berths left and growing pressure
from other groups within the party, the road ahead is riddled with political
complications.
Also Read: Revanth Reddy in need of repairing his dented public image
12.56% of population, 3.3% of candidates
Fulfilling a key election promise made by the Congress
during the 2023 Telangana Assembly polls, the state government successfully
conducted what it hails as India’s largest socioeconomic survey, widely
referred to as the caste census.
The massive survey, completed in 50 days, covered 96.7
percent of the state’s population. It revealed that Muslims account for 12.56
percent of the total population in the state. As per the census sample size of
3.54 crore it means that there are about 42,57,306 Muslims in the state.
Given the significant numbers, it is interesting that the
Congress did not field many Muslim candidates during the 2023 polls. In the
Assembly elections, the Congress fielded four Muslim Candidates, all of them in
Hyderabad. The candidates were:
- Shaik
Akbar in Malakpet
- Mohammed
Feroz Khan in Nampally
- Osman
Bin Mohammed Al Hajri in Karwan
- Mohammed
Azharuddin in Jubilee Hills
However, all four candidates lost the elections. While the
AIMIM won Malakpet, Nampally, and Karwan with Muslim candidates, the BRS took
Jubilee Hills with Maganti Gopinath.
Currently, seven out of the 119 legislators are Muslims,
making them 5.8 percent of the Legislative Assembly. Yet, the Congress does
have a Muslim councillor. While not elected, Amer Ali Khan, a senior
journalist, was nominated by the Governor.
Notably, during the first two terms of the BRS, MLC Mahmood
Ali served in the Cabinet twice. During the first term, he served as the Deputy
Chief Minister and the Revenue Minister. Meanwhile, in the second term, he
served as the Home Minister.
‘Not without challenges’
“Caste has taken precedence during this Cabinet’s
expansion,” senior journalist CR Gowri Shanker told South First.
The former political editor at Deccan Chronicle, observed that BCs
and SCs were an important key in the Congress’s “Social Justice” vision.
“They should take a minority leader into the cabinet as
well,” he opined. He also noted that it was not without challenges.
“There is no Muslim elected representative in the Congress.
None in the Legislative Assembly and only one member, nominated, in the
Legislative Council,” he explained. “However, the problem does not end there.
Telangana’s Congress is full of original leaders who have spent their entire
lives for the party. The Congress is already rife with tension because these
senior leaders have been denied a Cabinet berth in favour of those who switched
parties,” he continued.
“With just three berths remaining in the Cabinet, the party
is rattled by upset leaders, especially among the Reddys. Everyone is an
aspirant,” he said.
He added that picking an MLC would also cause problems for
the grand old party. “If they pick a nominated MLC, that opens a can of worms.
There will be opposition to the fact that the Councillor is nominated, not
elected. Furthermore, a berth to him will open the door for other MLCs staking
a claim for the remaining slots,” he predicted.
“There is a sliver of hope in the upcoming Jubilee Hills
by-elections. However, even that is unlikely, given the support the MIM enjoys
over there,” he noted, adding that with just three berths remaining, caste,
region, and loyalty will come to the forefront.
‘Minority minister not likely’
“I don’t think that there will be a minister from the
minority community in the Telangana Cabinet,” Congress leader Mohammed Feroz
Khan told South First. Serving as the TPCC general secretary, he
was among the few minority leaders who contested from the Congress in the 2023
state polls.
“The reason I think there will not be any minority minister
is that we don’t have any elected representatives. While there is MLC Amer Ali
Khan, the chief minister and the party believe that he is not fit to be a
minister,” he said.
“Amer Ali Khan got the nomination by approaching Delhi. He
is not a member of Congress either. He will not be a minister,” Khan asserted.
However, he did not completely dismiss the possibility of a Muslim minister.
“If a Muslim candidate wins the upcoming Jubilee Hills
by-elections that person will be inducted in the Cabinet,” he said.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
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