Two Ministers may be axed for TRS debacle in LS polls

Hyderabad: Poor performance by the ruling party in the recent Lok Sabha elections is likely to lead to axing a couple of Ministers during the Cabinet expansion which may take place soon.

According to sources, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has been very upset with the party leaders who include some Ministers for poor performance of the party in some areas.

The sources said the Chief Minister, during the Cabinet expansion, may replace a couple of Ministers holding them responsible for the party's debacle in certain constituencies.

It is learnt that the Chief Minister was unhappy with the senior party leaders for not working in coordination during the election campaign. He was upset with the senior leaders for not reaching out to voters like they did during the Assembly elections.

The leaders, it is said, had put their trust on the welfare schemes and believed that they would secure votes for the party.

The TRS leaders who recommended tickets to their relatives but still could not make them win had also made KCR angry.

It may be recalled that Minister T Srinivas Yadav could get ticket for his son T Sai Kiran Yadav for Secunderabad, but he had failed to ensure victory for his son. Similarly, Ch Malla Reddy could not ensure victory of his son-in-law M Rajashekar Reddy from Malkajgiri.

The Chief Minister was unhappy because the party had to face defeat in north Telangana, the stronghold of TRS since Telangana agitation.

It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had decided to expand the Cabinet and also promised on the floor of the Assembly that this time two women would find place in the Council of Ministers.

There are speculations that TRS working president K T Rama Rao and former Minister T Harish Rao are likely to be inducted into the Cabinet.

Apart from the two leaders, the name of former Minister Kadiyam Srihari is also doing rounds.

Sources said that the Chief Minister may ask a couple of Ministers to step down.

The other names doing rounds for the Cabinet berth include Padma Devender Reddy, Satyavathi Rathod, P Sabita Indra Reddy, who decided to join TRS, Puvvada Ajay Kumar, Sandra Venkata Veeraiah, who announced his decision to join TRS and G Sukhender Reddy.

There are speculations that one more MLA from Hyderabad city would also get a Ministerial berth.

The date for Cabinet expansion will be fixed when the Model Code of Conduct for MPTC and ZPTC polls comes to an end.