Grand old party in a quandary as siblings seek berths in Telangana

HYDERABAD: The Congress top brass is being impaled on the horns of a dilemma as to how to accommodate siblings from erstwhile Adilabad and Nalgonda districts in the Cabinet when its expansion takes place.

In Nalgonda district, even as R&B Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy in continuing the Cabinet, his younger brother Rajagopal is bringing pressure on the high command for a berth.

Though Rajagopal had ensured the victory of Congress nominee Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy from Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency in the recent parliamentary elections, the party does not know how to accommodate him when his elder brother is already in the Cabinet.

As Rajagopal had represented Bhongir in Lok Sabha in the past, he has vast contacts in the constituency which he made good use of in helping Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy win the seat with over two lakh votes majority. Rajagopal now has the moral heft to demand his pound of flesh for helping Kiran Kumar win from Bhongir.

As Komatiredy brothers’ problem continues to fester, the party is also being forced to grapple with the problem in the Adilabad district. The party does not know how it can accommodate Bellampally MLA Gaddam Vinod in the Cabinet as it had already nominated his brother and Chennur MLA Vivek’s son Vamshi for the Peddapllay LS seat, which he won.

Vinod now wants to be taken into the Cabinet since his brother’s son was sent to Parliament. Vinod served as minister in the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s Cabinet and Vivek served as an MP between 2009 to 2014 from Peddapalli.