Hyderabad: Induction of TD national general secretary Nara Lokesh into the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet is likely to take more time, but is likely around March next. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu doesn't want to do this for his son until he gets elected as an MLC.
Sources told this newspaper on Monday that both Mr Lokesh and Mr Naidu feel it will not be appropriate to do this at this stage by getting one or another MLC to resign and fecilitate a bypoll for the sake of Mr Lokesh. As of now, there is no vacancy either in the Assembly or in the legislative council. Biennial polls for one-third of the 58 MLC seats will be held around February-March.
“There will be vacancies by early next year. Some of the seats held by the Opposition will go to the TD kitty due to the reduced strength of the Opposition in the electoral college. A unanimous election of Mr Lokesh from any of the seats would be easier,” said the source.
It is expected that the Chief Minister will undertake a Cabinet reshuffle around March. We would induct a few more ministers especially from the Minority and Scheduled Tribes segments, and drop a few non-performing ministers,” the source said.
Another reason for the delay in induction of Mr Lokesh is that the CM has changed his mind on Cabinet reshuffle, as he is currently concentrating full attention on shifting of the entire administration from Hyderabad to Amaravati. After this, a new Cabinet will able to more effectively take up the challenges of development and welfare of the state ahead of the 2019 elections.
At present, the Andhra Pradesh administration is largely at a standstill due to the troubled shifting process and the schedules thereof going haywire. This is due to the poor planning, as also in arranging the space, and the easy-going attitude of the officialdom.
