Telangana cabinet expansion: A calculated push for social justice and electoral strategy

Time of India

4 days ago

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Hyderabad: In a move loaded with political messaging, the Congress govt in Telangana expanded its cabinet on Sunday by inducting only Scheduled Caste (SC) and Backward Class (BC) legislators.
The decision, party leaders said, was aimed at reinforcing the govt's commitment to social justice and marginalised communities.
It also aligns with the party's recent legislative efforts, including two significant bills proposing 42% reservation for BCs in education, employment, and elected bodies, and another bill enabling sub-categorisation within SCs — both of which signal the Congress's intent to cater to historically underrepresented groups.
Local body polls' influence
Political analysts view the timing and composition of the expansion as strategically driven by the upcoming local body elections, particularly in gram panchayats, zilla parishads, and municipalities. Keen to consolidate its support among SCs and BCs—demographically crucial segments in rural areas—the Congress high command appears to have consciously prioritised these communities in the first round of expansion.
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Of the six vacant cabinet berths, only three were filled, leaving room for OCs (other castes) and minority candidates in the next round. Despite growing demands for representation from Greater Hyderabad, none from the capital or Rangareddy districts were considered—reportedly due to caste balancing priorities outweighing regional representation for now.
Managing caste optics
Initially, the Congress leadership considered filling four of the six vacancies.
However, intense lobbying, particularly from Reddy MLAs—including P Sudarshan Reddy, Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy, Malreddy Ranga Reddy, and Rammohan Reddy—compelled the party to defer accommodating other communities to avoid internal dissent. With four ministers, including CM Revanth Reddy, already from the Reddy community, any further inclusion risked upsetting the caste equilibrium within the cabinet.
The current cabinet is carefully calibrated to reflect Telangana's diverse social fabric. It includes ministers from major communities: Velama (Jupally Krishna Rao), Kamma (Tummala Nageswara Rao), Brahmin (D Sridhar Babu), ST (Seethakka), in addition to the new SC and BC inductees. Replacing an existing minister from any of these communities to include another would risk triggering factionalism—something the party is keen to avoid at this juncture.
Strategic choices
The Congress also faced mounting pressure from various sub-caste groups within the SC and BC communities. Recently, five Congress MLAs from the Madiga community met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, and CM Revanth Reddy, urging that at least one among them be included. While G Vivek Venkatswamy's inclusion (from the Mala SC sub-group) was already decided, the leadership responded by inducting Adluri Laxman Kumar, a Madiga leader, to maintain sub-caste balance.
Similarly, Vakiti Srihari's induction addressed demands from the Mudiraj community, the numerically strongest BC group in the state. He is the only Congress MLA from this group and had reportedly received assurances from the CM during election season.
In the Scheduled Tribe segment, the Lambada and Gutti Koya tribes had staked claims. Seethakka, a Gutti Koya tribal, remains the lone ST minister. Among the contenders, MLAs Balu Naik and Ramachandra Naik were in serious consideration.
Ultimately, the party chose to elevate Ramachandra Naik to the post of deputy speaker, which carries cabinet rank, as a compromise.
The cabinet expansion also made clear two unstated but evident policy decisions. First, the Congress refrained from including any MLCs, despite intense lobbying from aspirants like Amer Ali Khan, Addanki Dayakar, and Vijayashanti. The leadership appears intent on restricting ministerial berths to elected MLAs—at least for now.
Second, the absence of a Muslim minister was notable but unsurprising. With no Muslim MLA currently in the Congress legislature party, the leadership opted not to induct any minority representative via the legislative council. That decision, however, may be revisited in the next phase of expansion.
A balancing act
In essence, the Congress's cabinet expansion is both a political signal and a strategic calculation—appealing to core voter bases ahead of rural local body polls while containing internal ambitions within the party. By inducting only SC and BC leaders in this round, the party has underscored its social justice plank while buying time to carefully navigate competing claims from other communities in the next phase.
The balancing act is far from over, but Sunday's expansion has set the tone for how the Congress intends to manage governance and internal coalition-building in Telangana.