NEW DELHI: The Telangana cabinet led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy saw its first expansion on Sunday, with three Congress MLAs, G Vivek Venkata Swamy, Adluri Laxman Kumar and Vakiti Srihari, sworn in as ministers at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered the oath of office and secrecy in the presence of CM Reddy, cabinet members, MLAs and other dignitaries.According to news agency PTI, the induction followed a series of discussions between CM Revanth Reddy, Telangana Congress chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud, and the Congress high command in Delhi. With this move, the strength of the cabinet has now increased to 15, with three vacancies still remaining out of the permitted 18.The appointments were seen as a step towards reinforcing the Congress’s stated commitment to social justice. Vivek and Laxman Kumar belong to the SC (Mala) and SC (Madiga) communities respectively, while Srihari hails from the backwards classes. Additionally, Congress legislator Ramchander Naik, who was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, represents the Scheduled Tribes.Congratulating the newly inducted ministers and deputy speaker, CM Revanth Reddy wrote on X, “As new ministers about to take charge — Sri Vivek Venkata Swamy, Mr. Adluri Lakshman, and Sri Vakiti Srihari — my congratulations. To Shri Ramachandru Nayak, who is about to assume the charge of Deputy Speaker in the Legislative Assembly, my congratulations”.Vivek Venkata Swamy, a prominent face in the Congress and son of veteran leader G Venkataswamy, had previously served as a Lok Sabha MP from Peddapalli and was also the president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. He rejoined the Congress ahead of the 2023 assembly polls after brief stints with the BRS and BJP. His family continues to have a strong political presence, with his brother G Vinod and son Vamsi Krishna currently serving as Congress MLAs and Lok Sabha MP, respectively.Adluri Laxman Kumar represents the Dharmapuri (SC-reserved) constituency in Jagtial district, while Vakiti Srihari was elected from Makthal in Narayanpet district. Both were elected in the 2023 assembly elections.The Congress leadership is also working to address discontent among MLAs who were overlooked for ministerial posts. Party in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan and TPCC president Goud have met with senior legislators P Sudarshan Reddy and Prem Sagar in an effort to pacify them.The party’s organisational appointments, including the long-pending position of working president under TPCC chief Goud, are also expected to be finalised soon.
