Cabinet 2.0 brings in a fresh set of tangles

Visakhapatnam: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is leading the YSRCP as a one-man army, garners new tangles in a revamped cabinet.

With an intention to give a chance to all the leaders who have been loyal to him and enhance people-oriented governance, the Chief Minister favoured cabinet reshuffle from the beginning.

However, the mega exercise would not have attracted any 'uninvited trouble' if all the former ministers had been asked to step down from the Cabinet and a fresh team of ministers was given an opportunity.

The presence of senior ministers in the Cabinet is, however, palpable as they would bring in their expertise to the fore.

Following the reshuffle decision, almost 11 ministers in the old Cabinet resorted to tendering resignation letters or expressing resentment. To pacify them, the Chief Minister reconsidered their posts in the Cabinet 2.0.

By retaining previous ministers in the Cabinet, it is unclear as to what kind of implications it paves way for in future. Unable to digest the non-inclusion of their leader in the Cabinet, an army of partymen raised a banner of revolt like never before as soon as the Cabinet 2.0 was announced.

Ever since the YSRCP came to power, the rewarding of the minister posts has been in contrast with the expectations of the party leaders. But no one had the 'courage' to question the Chief Minister or the 'key leaders' over any decision made by the party, leave alone opposing and staging a protest.

Barring one or two incidents of protests, no leader opposed the party's decision even during the MLA ticket allotment.

On the contrary, the Cabinet 2.0 led to several protests across the state against the party's decision for the first time. Political analysts are of the opinion that the development would lead to a split in the party.

When an MLA assumes charge as a minister, his cadre plus followers will reach a new high. Now with a number of public representatives not able to make up to the cabinet 2.0, whether the dissatisfied leaders would become detrimental to the ruling party or they would continue to be loyal to the 'team Jagan' needs to be seen.

The followers of the previous ministers, including Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, M Sucharita and S Udaya Bhanu along with Chodavaram MLA Karanam Dharmasri, took to the streets sulking over their leaders not being included in the cabinet by staging a 'rasta roko' and burning effigies and tyres.

Despite assuring them that they would be given bigger responsibilities in the party, there is an element of ambiguity whether they would discharge their duties in their newly assigned roles with commitment or not.

Although the newly formed Cabinet comprises a mix of experienced leaders and a team of young ones for balanced governance, some of the senior leaders have to bow their heads to junior leaders as the latter now gained a berth in the Cabinet. But how well the fresh blend would go down among the party cadre has now become a million-dollar question.

For instance, Avanthi Srinivas, who served as an MLA, MP and minister, now has to pay heed to Gudivada Amarnath, who was following the former's orders as an MLA for the past three years.

Following the massive rejig, there is a need to wait and watch how the new ministers in the state Cabinet is going to aid the ruling party in emerging victorious in the ensuing general elections by ironing out the mounting differences among the leaders.