Srikalahasti MLA fulfils election promise on birthday
Srikalahasti MLA Bojjala Venkata Sudheer Reddy has fulfilled a promise made by him ahead of the general elections to build a bridge across the Telugu Ganga canal. On the occasion of his birthday on Thursday, Mr. Reddy formally conducted the 'Bhumi Puja' and laid the foundation stone for the bridge at Kallipudi village, in Thottambedu mandal.
In fact, the MLA had announced the adoption of the Kallipudi village and the bridge. Local residents, who attended the ceremony, expressed delight as the new bridge would significantly ease their travel woes, particularly improving access to the burial ground located on the other side of the canal.
Mr. Sudheer Reddy, accompanied by his wife Rishita Reddy, offered prayers at the famed Srikalahastheeswara Swamy Devasthanam on the occasion and personally distributed 'Laddu Prasadam' to the visiting devotees.
Meanwhile, HRD Minister Nara Lokesh called the MLA and extended his wishes on the occasion. It may be recalled that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and the MLA's father and former Minister Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy were also friends since their college days.
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Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Telangana cabinet expansion: A calculated push for social justice and electoral strategy
1 2 3 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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo 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.
The Hindu
11 hours ago
- The Hindu
Using religion for political gains
For the last four decades, political narratives in Andhra Pradesh have always hinged on caste equations. Even if we look at the composition of the current National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the two major parties — the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) — are largely represented by two major castes in Andhra Pradesh — the Kammas and the Kapus. Similarly, the Congress and YSR Congress Party are dominated by the Reddy community. This was not always the case. Before the 1980s, the key players in Andhra Pradesh were the Congress and Left parties, and their narratives were largely based on social issues. Though there were underlying currents of caste-based politics, these did not surface often. The narrative of caste-based politics started with the entry of N.T. Rama Rao into politics in 1982. Rao, the founder of the TDP, advocated for Telugu pride, yet his party was often termed a 'Kamma party'. Ever since the composite State of Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated in 2014, and Telangana was formed, the politics in the residual State of Andhra Pradesh has changed and has assumed religious overtones. While this was noticeable during the previous YSRCP government headed by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, it has become all the more evident during the current NDA regime, which came to power in 2024. Political narratives have been based largely on a number of issues revolving around places of worship and have caused quite a stir in the State. The most prominent of these is the controversy surrounding the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). It broke out in September 2024 when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the laddu prasadam was being made with adulterated ghee containing animal fat. He claimed that the contract for the supply of sub-standard ghee had been given to a firm by the earlier YSRCP government. The accusation caused political and religious outrage across the country. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who is the JSP chief, claimed that adding adulterated ghee was a concerted move to attack Sanatana Dharma. The parties and allies of the NDA left no stone unturned in attacking Mr. Jagan Reddy and his party. They went to the extent of saying that the practice of hiring staff from other faiths had led to 'sacrilege' of the TTD. A Special Investigation Team was constituted to probe this matter and the issue finally reached the Supreme Court. When the controversy died down after a couple of months, Mr. Reddy turned the tables on the NDA following a stampede at the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival at the TTD temple in Tirupati. The incident, which took place on January 8, claimed six lives. Mr. Jagan Reddy and his party alleged negligence, and held the NDA responsible for it. Before this incident too could die down, TTD's former chairman, former MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, alleged that over 170 cows had died in a month at the devasthanams goshala (cow shed) and said that funds for the goshala were being misused by the present TTD board and officials. This led to tense moments in the temple town. Both the YSRCP and the NDA locked horns over the issue. All the political parties in the State, including the Left parties, took turns to add to the discourse. The issue reached a feverish pitch and dominated the political narrative in the State. However, this is not the case only with the present NDA regime although it seems more prominent now. The desecration of Lord Rama's idol at the 12th century Ramatheertham yemple in Vizianagaram district in December 2020 gained considerable political traction. The YSRCP was in power then. All the Opposition parties, including the TDP, the JSP, and the BJP, raised their pitch and made this an election issue in the 2024 general elections. In the same year, a century-old wooden chariot of the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, located in Sakhinetipalli Mandal in East Godavari district, was set on fire by miscreants. The Opposition parties alleged that people from other faiths had set fire to the chariot. The suspect in the case, who hails from a minority community, was killed in a road accident. Senior politicians and political analysts say that this appears to be a new trend in the State. With religious issues taking centre stage, core issues are taking a backseat. sumit.b@
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Telangana Cabinet expanded with inclusion of Vivek Venkataswamy, Vakiti Srihari and Adluri Lakshman Kumar
The Telangana State Cabinet has seen the first expansion 18 months after the Congress Government took over the reins in December 2023. Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered oath of office and secrecy to three new Ministers – G. Vivek Venkataswamy, Adluri Lakshman Kumar and Vakiti Srihari at a simple ceremony on Sunday (June 8, 2025). Mr. Vivek took oath in English and Mr. Lakshman Kumar and Mr. Srihari in Telugu in the presence of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Ministers, Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, DGP Jitender, MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi and senior Congress leaders. The strength of the Cabinet reached 13 with the addition of three more members and there is still space for accommodating few more. The portfolios of the new Ministers are yet to be announced amid talk that there can be a reshuffle in the portfolios of the existing Ministers. Expansion of the Council of Minister has been long overdue and several names cropped up once the Chief Minister intensified his requests to the Congress leadership to permit inclusion of new members. The Chief Minister and the Congress leadership took adequate care in striking social balance in the addition of new members with the inclusion of Mr. Srihari hailing from backward classes, Mr. Vivek from Mala community and Mr. Lakshman Kumar from Madiga community of the scheduled castes. Senior leaders like Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy had openly lobbied with the party leadership for ministerial berths whenever the Cabinet was expanded while senior leader and former Minister Sudharshan Reddy was keen that his name be included in the list given his seniority in the party as also in the assembly. AICC Telangana affairs in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan held several rounds of discussions with sections of party leaders ahead of the expansion seeking their views. Though several names cropped up once the talk of expansion gained momentum, the Chief Minister reportedly preferred maintaining social balance on the council of Ministers in spite of the challenge he faced in managing the representation of the strong Reddy community.
