KCR inducts Mahender Reddy into cabinet

Hyderabad Barely three months before the Assembly elections, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday expanded his cabinet with the induction of Patnam Mahender Reddy.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Reddy at Raj Bhavan. Chandrasekhar Rao, his cabinet colleagues, speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, legislative council chairman G Sukhender Reddy and senior officials attended the swearing-in.

Earlier, Mahender Reddy thanked KCR for giving him the opportunity and said he would try to live up to expectations. His portfolio is likely to be announced later. With Mahender Reddy taking oath, the strength of the cabinet has gone up to 18 including the chief minister.

Mahender Reddy’s swearing-in filled the lone vacancy in the cabinet. The position was vacant since May 2021 when KCR had dropped Eatala Rajender from the cabinet. Reddy is currently a member of legislative council. His induction into the cabinet is seen as an attempt by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to pacify him as he was expecting a party ticket to contest the coming assembly elections from Tandur constituency.

There were reports that Reddy was planning to quit the BRS and join the Congress or the BJP. After KCR announced BRS candidates for 115 assembly seats, Mahender Reddy had called on him and he was assured of a cabinet berth.

The BRS leadership also ensured a patch-up between Mahender Reddy and sitting MLA from Tandur Rohit Reddy. A cold war was going on between them ever since Rohit Reddy defected to the BRS a few months after he was elected from Tandur as a Congress candidate in 2018.