Hyderabad; It is one month since Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his nephew, former minister T. Harish Rao met, fuelling speculation that there is a widening gap between the two. Neither leader has discussed this issue with other party leaders.
At the same time on the same day, Mr Rao announced that his son and former minister K.T. Rama Rao would be TRS working president, which must have come as a shock to not only Harish Rao but also other TRS leaders.
Even when he visited ongoing irrigation projects to inspect them, Mr Rao did not invite Harish Rao to accompany him.
When Harish Rao was irrigation minister, Sridhar Deshpande, an expert on irrigation, was his Officer on Special Duty.
After the Assembly elections, Mr Deshpande joined his parent department, irrigation. He went with Mr Rao on the irrigation projects inspection and recently was appointed OSD (irrigation) in the CMO. It seems clear that even if Harish Rao is taken into the cabinet, he will not be given the Irrigation portfolio again.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the chief minister appointed Mareddy Srinivas Reddy as chairman of the State Civil Supplies Corporation. Mr Reddy is from Siddipet, which is represented by Harish Rao. Mr Reddy is a close follower of Mr Rao.
