With Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao promising the inclusion of two women leaders during the next Cabinet expansion, all eyes will be on former deputy speaker and Medak MLA M. Padma Devender Reddy.
A veteran
Ms. Padma is the only woman MLA from the erstwhile Medak district.
Except for a year from 2009 to 2010 when she had differences with Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao for being denied a party ticket in the elections, Ms Padma has been a prominent face of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and at the forefront of several agitations on behalf of the party.
She won as MLA in 2004, 2014 and 2018 from the same constituency, and has turned the constituency into a TRS stronghold.
Others in race
While a strong contender for a Cabinet berth, Ms. Padma faces stiff competition from Alair MLA Gongidi Sunitha and Khanapur MLA Rekha Naik, the two other women MLAs in the party.
Akula Lalitha, council member from the Congress party who was instrumental in merging it with the ruling party along with three other MLCs, has been reportedly expecting a Ministerial nomination as a ‘gesture’ of acknowledgement of good work from the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, former MLA Satyavathi Rathod has been named party candidate for the forthcoming Legislative Council elections.
And if she wins, she too will be in the race.
While the suspense is on, the question that begs an answer is whether Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao will choose an experienced person or opt for a totally new face in his Cabinet.
