Yagam over, all eyes on Cabinet expansion

KCR has one-to-one meeting with Governor for onver an hour

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao held over-an-hour-long one-to-one consultation with Governor E. S. L. Narasimhan at the end of the At Home hosted by the latter at Raj Bhavan on Saturday evening, once again fuelling speculation of a possible expansion of the two-member Cabinet any time.

The newly elected MLAs of the ruling TRS were eagerly awaiting the expansion ever since Mr. Rao and Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali were sworn in on December 13. After missing quite a few deadlines, it was expected that eight Ministers would be inducted into the Cabinet on January 18 but the overlapping of dates of the first session of the Assembly, and, later, the five-day yagam taken up by Mr. Rao put paid to their hopes.

Now that the yagam was over on Friday, Mr. Rao’s meeting with Mr. Narasimhan revived their hopes because it was after a similar religious ritual in 2015 that he had made a shake-up of the portfolios in the Cabinet. He had also nominated leaders to several important posts, including a major corporation.

Sources said Mr. Rao might go for Cabinet expansion towards the month-end or the first week of February by which time the three-phase election to gram panchayats would be over. Mr. Rao might want the expansion to be completed before the notification to fill vacancies in the Legislative Council was issued in the first week of February. On the other hand, the next session of the Assembly was expected in the second or third week of February to pass the vote-on-account budget of the government. By then, the government would want Ministers, albeit in limited strength, to transact business of the House on behalf of various departments.

With eight Ministers to be inducted now, Mr. Rao might complete the government formation with the balance eight members after Lok Sabha elections.

Tight schedule

Sources said Mr. Rao would have a tight schedule in the coming days, focussing on administrative and political strategies. Apart from Cabinet expansion, his immediate task is also to fill seven vacancies which have already arisen in the 40-member Council. Nine more members, including Mr. Mahmood Ali and Council chairman Mr. K. Swamy Goud, will retire by March-end.

Mr. Rao will have to fill vacancies of chairmen of eight corporations as the incumbents resigned to contest Assembly elections. The term of chairmen of some other corporations was not renewed with a view to terminating their service.