TDP-BJP fallout: Telugu states have no presence in Union cabinet

HYDERABAD: With the President Ram Nath Kovind accepting the resignations submitted by the two TDP ministers — P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and YS Chowdary — in the Narendra Modi cabinet to their posts, the Telugu land (Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) are now without representation in the Union government, first time in the recent past. The erstwhile united State used to have a fair representation of its MPs in the Union cabinet whether it was the Congress government or the non-Congress one.

Though Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu are representing AP in Rajya Sabha, they are from outside the Telugu-speaking  states. Sitharaman, who hails from Tamil Nadu, up to some extent may be considered a Telugu woman as her husband Parakala Prabhakar, advisor to AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu, is a Telugu man. But, Suresh Prabhu is not connected with the two states. Against this backdrop, BJP leaders in both Telangana and AP are eager to know who will be inducted into the Union Cabinet to fill the two vacancies from the Telugu-speaking states. BJP has three MPs in the two States. While Bandaru Dattatreya is the sole MP from Telangana, Gokaraju Ganga Raju and Kambhampati Haribabu are representing the party in AP.

“As Bandaru Dattatreya was dropped from the Modi cabinet earlier, he may not be inducted into it again. Hence, if at all Modi decides to fill at least one vacancy with a Telugu MP, then either of the two BJP MPs in AP might get a chance to become Union minister. BJP national general secretaries Ram Madhav and P Muralidhar Rao, who are Telugus, might also get a chance. But, it’s interesting to see whether the PM opts for filling the vacancies or leave them as it is,” a BJP leader commented.