Hyderabad, June 04: Will chief minister K Rosaiah have his way whenever he undertakes a reconstitution of his Cabinet, most likely after the ensuing elections to the Upper House?
According to informed sources, the chief minister is keen on dropping at least half a dozen ministers with whom he is not very comfortable for a variety of reasons including his belief that they are not fully backing him. At the same time, he intends to induct at least ten new ministers who would lend the kind of support he expects from members of his Cabinet.
Though the Congress high command has accorded in-principle nod for a revamp of the Cabinet, it is said to be of the view that Rosaiah should not ruffle too many feathers by dropping too many ministers. That too at a time when it is grappling with the defiance being shown by the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s son, Jagan Mohan Reddy.
In fact, a section of the Congress is of the view that Jagan has upped the ante against the government only to deter Rosaiah from sacking hardcore loyalists of Rajasekhara Reddy. If Rosaiah is able to go ahead with his plans, it could virtually result in Jagan not having any supporter in the Cabinet, something that he can ill-afford at this juncture.
Delhi has given Rosaiah solid backing so far, the kind of support they normally don’t lend to any chief minister. But the central bosses seem to hold the view that he should be able to pull his weight more than what he has been able to so far without often looking to Delhi to provide him solutions for problems that should be resolved at the state level. This is precisely why central leaders have been adopting a carrot-and-stick policy insofar as Jagan and his loyalists are concerned.
Sources said the central leadership is open to providing a berth in the Cabinet to YSR’s wife, Vijayamma, but it is essentially a decision that the family has to take — whether they should expose someone who was a dutiful housewife to the rough and tumble of politics.
As regards, Praja Rajyam, Congress sources dismissed as baseless speculation that the party would be given some berths in the Cabinet as a quid pro quo to Chiranjeevi extending support to the Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections. There is no such possibility, at least in the immediate future though the Congress is very much keen on building a long-term relationship with the star-turned-politician.
——–Agencies