Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday expanded his cabinet with the induction of 10 new ministers. Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the ministers at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.
Of the new ministers sworn in, five were in the previous cabinet while the rest are first-time ministers.K Chandrasekhar Rao The ministers who took oath are A. Indrakaran Reddy, Eatala Rajender, Koppula Eshwar, T. Srinivas Yadav, V. Prashanth Reddy, S. Niranjan Reddy, V. Srinivas Goud, E. Dayakar Rao, Malla Reddy and G. Jagadishwar Reddy.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, has not included his son K. T. Rama Rao and nephew T. Harish Rao who were ministers in his previous cabinet. Rama Rao was appointed as Working President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) following the party's landslide victory in the December 7 Assembly elections.
This was the first cabinet expansion by KCR, who took over as the Chief Minister for a second term on December 13.
Intro:Body:
All eyes on Chandrasekhar Rao's Cabinet expansion
Hyderabad: As Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao prepares to expand his cabinet more than two months after taking over for a second term, the focus is now on who would be part of the ministry.
Putting an end to opposition criticism (for not having a full Cabinet) and protracted speculation, KCR would induct new members into his council of ministers on Tuesday.
After his party's (TRS) spectacular victory in the December 7 assembly elections, Rao assumed office as Chief Minister for a second straight term on December 13. Mohd Mehmood Ali was the only minister to take oath along with him.
The focus now would be on the composition of the expanded ministry. With Rao's son K T Rama Rao having been appointed working president of the TRS, it remains to be seen whether he would be part of the Cabinet.
The suave Rama Rao, who held a number of portfolios including municipal administration, IT, industries and others, had been credited with creating a pro-development image for the TRS government, especially in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits. As many as 24 assembly segments fall under the limits of GHMC.
As the working president of TRS, Rama Rao would have the task of playing a key role in ensuring victory for his party in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
Advocating a non-Congress, non-BJP front at the national level, TRS had already sought 16 out of the total 17 Lok Sabha seats (leaving the Hyderabad seat represented by AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi) to ensure a better deal for Telangana post the elections.
The focus is also on T Harish Rao, a nephew of the chief minister, who, as irrigation minister, was instrumental in steering the ambitious irrigation projects like Kaleswaram taken up by the TRS government.
There is also speculation over whether ministers in the previous government would make it to the Cabinet this time or whether Rao would like to have fresh faces.
Though KCR has been conducting official reviews on various issues, the absence of a full Cabinet led to opposition criticism from the opposition Congress, BJP and others.
The ruling TRS, during its previous stint, had faced flak for not giving representation to women in the cabinet.
The Congress and other opposition parties had dubbed the failure to include women in the cabinet as being anti-women.
This would also be watched when the state cabinet is expanded today.
Conclusion:
