Meet Team Revanth Reddy

The new state cabinet is a mixed bag of different castes. Let’s discuss Revanth Reddy’s first state cabinet.

Telangana got its second Chief Minister on Thursday as Anumula Revanth Reddy took oath at the L B Stadium in the heart of Hyderabad. The newly elected CM got to work soon after the oath ceremony.

Reddy signed two files, one to create the legal framework for the implementation of the Six Guarantees promised by the Congress during the Assembly poll campaign, and the second to give the first government job under the Congress regime to Rajini, a physically challenged postgraduate from Nampally.

Reddy had promised Rajini a government job when he met her at Gandhi Bhavan after Rajini had narrated her plight, citing that she could neither secure employment in the private sector nor in the government despite completing her MCom.

The new state cabinet is a mixed bag of different castes. Let’s discuss Revanth Reddy’s first state cabinet.

Bhatti Vikramarka, who was earlier elected as the first Dalit Leader of the Opposition in the state, has now been appointed as the first Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana. Bhatti will be looking after the Finance & Planning, and Energy department.

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Uttam Kumar Reddy: A Congress loyalist and former Air Force pilot. Reddy served as the party’s state unit chief before Revanth Reddy in 2021. Before the election, he was the party’s Lok Sabha MP from Telangana’s Nalgonda. Reddy had earlier said that he is in the race for the CM’s chair. Uttam Kumar Reddy has been allotted the Irrigation & CAD, Food & Civil Supplies portfolio.

Sridhar Babu: A five-time MLA, Sridhar Babu was the Chairman of the party’s manifesto committee. Mr. Babu, a leader of the Brahmin community, was also an MLA in the undivided Andhra Pradesh government when the grand old party was in power in the state. Babu served as the Minister for Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs. Babu has been allotted the Finance Department.

Ponnam Prabhakar: Mr. Prabhakar, a member of the Goud community listed as a Backward Class, has been appointed as Transport and Backward Classes minister.

Komatireddy Venkat Reddy: Another Congress Lok Sabha MP who resigned has been allotted the Roads & Buildings and Cinematography portfolio.

Damodar Raja Narasimha: Mr. Narasimha was the former Deputy Chief Minister of (undivided) Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Narasimha comes from the Dalit community. Mr. Narasimha has been allotted the Health, Medical and family Welfare, Science, and Technology portfolio.

Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy: Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy represented the Khammam Lok Sabha constituency between 2014 and 2019 as a YSRC member. Later, he joined the KCR-led BRS from where he was suspended earlier this year. He then joined the Congress. According to sources, Reddy had declined an offer from the BJP. Reddy has been assigned the Revenue and Housing—Information & Public Relations portfolios.

Konda Surekha: Surekha has previously served as the women’s and children’s welfare minister in Y S Rajashekar Reddy’s ministry. She has been associated with YSRCP and BRS in the past decade before joining the Grand Old Party in 2018. Sureka has been assigned the Environment and Forests and Endowment portfolio.

Dansari Anasuya: Popularly known as Seethakka, The minister who got the loudest cheer from the crowd during the oath ceremony. Was formerly associated with a Naxal group. She joined the Janashakti Naxal group when she was 14 and went on to become a lawyer. She was a member of the TDP before joining the Congress party in 2017. Anasuya has been appointed Panchayat Raj & Rural Development, Women and child welfare minister.

Jupally Krishna Rao: Rao started his career as a bank employee and later shifted base to the real estate business. He was elected five times as MLA from Kollapur in Mahbubnagar. He quit the Congress and joined BRS in October 2011. Rao has been allotted the Excise, Tourism & Culture, and Archaeology department.

Tummala Nageswara Rao: Rao has worked under three CMs — N T Rama Rao, N Chandrababu Naidu, and K Chandrashekar Rao. He was part of the BRS until September after which he joined Congress. Rao has been assigned Agriculture, Marketing, Co-operation, and Handlooms & Textiles portfolio.

Lastly, CM Revanth Reddy, Municipal Administration & Urban Development, General Administration, Law & Order, and All other unallocated portfolios have been kept with CM Revanth Reddy. The CM was in Delhi on Friday to meet the top brass of the Congress to discuss a cabinet expansion.

One noteworthy thing is the cabinet does not have a single Muslim Minister in a state with a 12% Muslim population. The Party had filed six Muslim candidates. However, none could taste victory.