Revanth Reddy expands Telangana cabinet, 3 Dalit, BC community Congress leaders sworn in as ministers

The Telangana cabinet was expanded for the first time since the Congress government came to power in the state on  Sunday. Three Congress leaders from Dalit and Backward class communities were sworn in as ministers on Sunday.

Congress MLAs G. Vivek Venkata Swamy, Adluri Laxman Kumar and Vakiti Srihari were sworn in as ministers on Sunday. Governor Jishnu Dev Varma administered the oath of office and secrecy at a ceremony held in the Raj Bhavan. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, other cabinet ministers, MLAs and senior politicians were present.

The event marks the first cabinet expansion since the Revanth Reddy government assumed office in December 2023. Revanth Reddy and state Congress president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud held multiple discussions with the AICC leadership in Delhi regarding the induction of new ministers in the cabinet. 

 Congress MLA Ramchander Naik has also been chosen as the deputy speaker of the assembly. Earlier, Reddy congratulated the new ministers through a post on X.

The new picks to the cabinet reflect Congress's move to consolidate Dalit, scheduled caste votes. Vivek and Laxman Kumar belong to SC (Mala) and SC (Madiga) communities respectively, while Srihari is a leader who hails from the backward classes, PTI reported. Newly chosen deputy speaker, Ramchander Naik, is a leader from the ST community. 

Vivek Venkata Swamy, son of late Congress veteran G Venkataswamy, had also served as the president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). His elder brother G. Vinod is also a Congress MLA. 

The induction of three new ministers has increased the total strength of the Telangana cabinet to 12, including the chief minister.  The Telangana government has a sanctioned cabinet strength of 18.