Telangana Cabinet expanded with inclusion of Vivek Venkataswamy, Vakiti Srihari and Adluri Lakshman Kumar
The Hindu
Telangana State Cabinet expands with three new Ministers, maintaining social balance, amid talks of portfolio reshuffle.
The Telangana State Cabinet has seen the first expansion 18 months after the Congress Government took over the reins in December 2023.
Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered oath of office and secrecy to three new Ministers – G. Vivek Venkataswamy, Adluri Lakshman Kumar and Vakiti Srihari at a simple ceremony on Sunday (June 8, 2025). Mr. Vivek took oath in English and Mr. Lakshman Kumar and Mr. Srihari in Telugu in the presence of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Ministers, Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, DGP Jitender, MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi and senior Congress leaders.
The strength of the Cabinet reached 13 with the addition of three more members and there is still space for accommodating few more. The portfolios of the new Ministers are yet to be announced amid talk that there can be a reshuffle in the portfolios of the existing Ministers.
Expansion of the Council of Minister has been long overdue and several names cropped up once the Chief Minister intensified his requests to the Congress leadership to permit inclusion of new members. The Chief Minister and the Congress leadership took adequate care in striking social balance in the addition of new members with the inclusion of Mr. Srihari hailing from backward classes, Mr. Vivek from Mala community and Mr. Lakshman Kumar from Madiga community of the scheduled castes.
Senior leaders like Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy had openly lobbied with the party leadership for ministerial berths whenever the Cabinet was expanded while senior leader and former Minister Sudharshan Reddy was keen that his name be included in the list given his seniority in the party as also in the assembly. AICC Telangana affairs in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan held several rounds of discussions with sections of party leaders ahead of the expansion seeking their views. Though several names cropped up once the talk of expansion gained momentum, the Chief Minister reportedly preferred maintaining social balance on the council of Ministers in spite of the challenge he faced in managing the representation of the strong Reddy community.
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