More than two months after assuming office, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Tuesday expanded his cabinet by inducting 10 ministers.
Of the new ministers sworn in, five were ministers in the previous cabinet while the rest are first-time ministers.
The ministers who took oath are A. Indrakaran Reddy, Eatala Rajender, Koppula Eshwar, T. Srinivas Yadav, V. Prashanth Reddy, S. Niranjan Reddy, V. Srinivas Goud, E. Dayakar Rao, Malla Reddy and G. Jagadishwar Reddy.
There is no woman among the newly-inducted ministers. The previous TRS ministry also had no representation for women, drawing flak from various quarters.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, has not included his son K.T. Rama Rao and nephew Harish Rao, who were ministers in his previous cabinet.
Rama Rao was appointed as Working President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) following the party's landslide victory in the December 7 Assembly elections.
TRS sources say the services of both Rama Rao and Harish Rao would be utilised for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The latter is likely to be fielded in the parliamentary polls.
Harish Rao said he was not unhappy over not getting a cabinet berth and would continue to work as a disciplined worker of the party, obeying the directions of KCR.
This was the first cabinet expansion by KCR, who took over as the Chief Minister for a second term on December 13. Mohammed Mahmood Ali was the only minister who was sworn in along with Rao.
The cabinet can have a strength of 18, including the chief minister. Another cabinet expansion is likely after the Lok Sabha elections.
--IANS
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