Dattatreya makes way for Muralidhar Rao?

Haribabu likely to find A Place in Cabinet rejig

New Delhi: The leaders of the BJP units of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states are a bit edgy over the proposed Cabinet expansion as it could also signal a change in the fortunes of the leaders if not the parties and perhaps rightly so.

BJP national president Amit Shah has already signalled his intent clearly that his southern plans include the two Telugu states and that he would closely monitor the progress of the party in the states.

It is now clear that Amit Shah wants the party to embark upon a confrontational path in Telangana with the government as of now, and his AP plan is still being ironed out.

With the news of Bandaru Dattatreya's resignation making rounds here, who would get a chance next in the Cabinet will be interesting to watch.

It should be recalled that with M Venkaiah Naidu being elevated to the Vice-President's position and Nirmala Seetharaman (though under the Karnataka quota now) being tipped to take over as the party's chief spokesperson, there is enough room for manipulation in the state units now.

Prominent among the names being heard for stepping into the Cabinet are those of K Haribabu, BJP MP from Visakhapatnam and that of the general secretary, Muralidhar Rao. As for Haribabu's name, it is being said that he could be given either the Skill Development Ministry or so - ie, if Amit Shah wants to rejig the BJP-TDP equation a bit to pave way for the party's aggressive campaign in future.

There has been this speculation that after 'elevating' Venkaiah Naidu, Amit Shah had set his sights on the state leadership issue in AP and in the process could 'elevate' Haribabu too to the Cabinet so that Kapus could be given charge of the state unit.

The general discontent among the Kapus should be tapped along with drawing in from the strength of the Reddys, Amit Shah feels, it is said. As long as Venkaiah Naidu was around in the Cabinet there were certain limitations to some of the manouvres in AP, it was believed always. There also have been several representations in the past too to chose a Kapu as the state president.

In case of Telangana, Muralidhar Rao's name is making rounds as a possible entrant into the Cabinet in the event of Dattatreya's shift to the party. Though, Muralidhar Rao, himself is tight-lipped about the same, his induction is not being ruled out due to a couple of factors.

Rao is not just a native of Telangana but has been active in the student politics of the state since long and has good grasp of the ground realities. Secondly, he comes from the same social background as that of the Chief Minister (there is no clarity to this issue as how it would be helpful for the party yet).

The changes, if effected, certainly signal a new paradigm in AP politics completely and set new challenges for the BJP leadership in Telangana.