TeaHe reflects the Congress’s commitment to the recent cabinet expansion social justice in Telangana. By incorporating three ministers – Gadam Vivek and Edaluri Laxman from Scheduled Castes (SC) Group and Vakiti Srihari from Backward Classes (BC) Group – as well as leaders of social and economically backward communities for various positions, the party has historically tried to realize its power structure to be historically marginalized. However, it has not come without friction, especially from the major Reddy community, which feels unseen despite its numerical and political domination in the assembly.
Seven BC in Congress Three of the sals have been given cabinet posts and two have been appointed as the main whip and whip. Among the ministers, Ponam Prabhakar belongs to the Gaud community, Konda Surekha is with the Padmashali community (with her husband from the Munnuru Kapu community), and the lawyer comes from Srihari Mudiraj caste. State Congress Committee chief A. Mahesh Kumar Gaud is a Goud from the BC community. The BCS enjoys more representation not only in the cabinet, but also in major political roles.
Additionally, with the inclusion of Mr. Vivek and Sri Laxman, the number of SC leaders in the cabinet has increased. They are equally divided between garlands and Madiga sub-groups. This balance is important in a state where internal division within SC communities has affected political equations, especially the Madiga Reservation Porta Committee. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti holds Vikramark, a garland, finance portfolio, while former Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha has a health portfolio.
Despite this progressive approach, the Congress has triggered dissatisfaction within its largest and historically the most influential support base, Reddy community. In the 119 -member assembly, 43 MLAs are from the Reddy community. Within the Congress, 26 of the 64 MLAs are from the Reddy community.
Among the people who have been released, KomatyiddD Rajagopal Reddy, P. Sudarshan Reddy, T. Strong aspirations like Rammohan Reddy and Malred Ranga Reddy are included.
Mr. Rajagopal Reddy, who played an important role in increasing the Congress’ possibilities by jumping ship from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the elections, feels particularly suffering, especially since his political ally, Vivek Venkatswami was included in the cabinet. The two leaders were promised a berth. When Mr. Rajagopal Reddy, Mr. Venkatswamy, and Pongulati Srinivas Reddy entered the Congress at the same time from the India President’s Committee (BRS), it made the impression that the BJP was losing land and the Congress was the only option of BRS.
No one can deny the impact of these leaders on the overall performance of the party, even though Revanth Reddy, who was then the PCC chief, firmly created an anti-BRS story. The BJP, which looked strong, when Mr. Rajagopal Reddy and Sri Venkatswami dropped the party at a significant turn. Mr. Rajagopal Reddy’s brother, Komatidid Venkat Reddy, is a minister and meets Nalgonda – a Reddy stronghold. While becoming progressive in its politics, the Congress will also do well in ensuring that its traditional support base, Reddy community, should be kept happy.
While the caste arithmetic of the Congress may have worked, the representation of regional and minority members leaves a lot to be desired. Major districts like Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Nizamabad have not represented the cabinet. Muslims, and Lambad have also been abandoned among the tribal communities.
There is no Muslim MLA in the Guna of the Congress. The party has only one Muslim MLC, Amer Ali Khan. To bridge this difference, the Congress is considering fielding a Muslim candidate from Jubilee Hills in the upcoming election. The Chief Minister’s confidant, a cricketer, and Faheem Qureshi’s name is floating in the name of Mohammad Azharuddin.
To compensate for the absence of the Lambada community, the Chief Minister nominated Ram Chander Naik, who was an MLA from Dornakal, as a deputy speaker. It appoints Gadam Prasad Kumar’s appointment as a Dalit. As a result, Telangana is perhaps the only state where the presiding officers of the Legislative Assembly belong to both SC and ST communities respectively.
Published – June 11, 2025 01:07 AM IST