One-and-a-half decade is a long time in politics where fortunes often fluctuate. In power and limelight for a while and shunted to the sidelines next.
This is what happened to T. Harish Rao, Siddipet MLA and former Irrigation Minister.
Flashback to May 2004. After the Assembly elections the Congress, led by Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy (YSR) came to power in the united Andhra Pradesh. Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) had a pre-poll alliance and won the elections defeating the decade-old Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government. The talk in the Congress circles was, that YSR was forced to go to elections along with TRS at the insistence of All India Congress Committee AICC President Sonia Gandhi.
After winning the elections, YSR had formed his first Cabinet with 24 ministers, all heavy weights from his party.
Non-MLA minister
After almost a month, YSR expanded the Cabinet inducting six members from the TRS. This included the then TRS legislators — A. Chandrasekhar, V. Lakshmikanth Rao, Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Sanigaram Santosh Reddy, G. Vijayarama Rao — and T. Harish Rao. The last one was not an MLA but only a media coordinator of the TRS and nephew of Chandrasekhar Rao. It was KCR who demanded the Congress high command that Harish Rao be made a minister though he was not a Legislator.
KCR who had won from Siddipet Assembly constituency in that election had vacated the seat later for Harish Rao, who had not only won from there but has been representing it uninterrupted.
Wings clipped
Cut to 2019. Harish Rao won from the same constituency with the highest majority of more than 1.18 lakh votes. He emerged as an excellent organiser and trouble-shooter for the TRS, not to speak of having become a very popular leader in his constituency. But this time, he has been excluded from the Cabinet for reasons best known to KCR.
In a related development, Marupally Bhavani, corporator from Ward no.15 in Siddipet municipality has resigned on Tuesday protesting Harish Rao’s non-inclusion in the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, former Minister T. Harish Rao, who spoke to the media on Tuesday, asked people not to attribute any motives to his omission.
He recalled his election speeches that he would remain a disciplined soldier of the TRS and said he was committed to implement the instructions of the party and the Chief Minister.
Mr. Rao said the Chief Minister constituted his team balancing the representation to different regions and social groups in the State. “I am never unhappy. I strongly condemn adverse social media posts against me. I am not identified with any group within the party.”