Rammohan, two other TDP MPs may be given berths in Modi cabinet
The TDP is expected to get a Cabinet minister post, besides two posts of ministers of state in the Modi cabinet, though the party has pitched for four berths
Three-time parliamentarian of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from Srikakulam Lok Sabha constituency Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu will likely be inducted into the Union Cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will be sworn in on Sunday, party leaders familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The TDP is expected to get a Cabinet minister post, besides two posts of ministers of state in the Modi cabinet, though the party has pitched for four berths – two Cabinet and two MoS posts. “Besides, there is a possibility of the party being offered the deputy speaker post,” a party leader said on condition of anonymity.
Rammohan Naidu (37) entered the politics in 2012, after the death of his father Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu, who served as the Union Cabinet minister in Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral cabinets between 1996 and 1998, holding the portfolio of rural development and employment.
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“A graduate in engineering and a post-graduate in business administration, Rammohan Naidu has tremendous oratorical skills. In all probability, Naidu will recommend him for the cabinet berth,” the TDP leader quoted above said.
Two other leaders who might make it to the Union council of ministers are: Pemmasani Chandrasekhar from Guntur and Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy from Nellore. “While Chandrasekhar has tremendous connections among the NRI investors, Prabhakar Reddy is an influential person in the corporate circles. They would be helpful in attracting investments to the state,” he said.
If the TDP gets a fourth berth in the cabinet, Naidu may propose a name of an MP from Scheduled Caste community – either D Prasada Rao from Chittoor or T Krishna Prasad from Bapatla.
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The TDP leader said if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader agrees to give deputy speaker post to the TDP, Naidu might recommend the name of GM Harish Balayogi from Amalapura, who is the son of former Lok Sabha speaker GMC Balayogi, who held the post in the early years of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government.
From Jana Sena Party (JSP), the Prime Minister may accommodate Vallabhaneni Bala Showry from Machilipatnam. “Among the BJP MPs from Andhra Pradesh, party state unit president Daggubati Purandeshwari might get a chance,” the TDP leader added.