Centre stage for Renuka, Chiru

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Newly-elected Rajya Sabha members of the Congress from the state K. Chiranjeevi and Renuka Chowdary may find places in the Union Cabinet in the next reshuffle, which party insiders say might take place in May.

Mr Chiranjeevi, meanwhile, met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday in New Delhi and thanked her for nominating him to the Upper House. The erstwhile Praja Rajyam leader’s inclusion as a minister of state with independent charge will not come as a surprise as AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad had said last year that he would be accommodated once he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Mr Chiranjeevi's inclusion was part of the merger package between the Congress and the PR. When asked about him becoming a Union minister, Mr Chiranjeevi said on Saturday, “This did not figure in my meeting with Soniaji, but I will accept whatever responsibility the party gives me.”

Ms Chowdary, on the other hand, is not a stranger to the Central Cabinet. She has been Union minister of state (Independent charge) twice, during UPA-I and in the I.K Gujral Cabinet during the United Front regime. “I was given Rajya Sabha membership not as a gift but as a responsibility; I will work as a soldier, whatever assignment Soniaji gives me, I will take it up with humility.”

A total of 44 Congress MPs represent the state, 13 of whom are Rajya Sabha members and 31 are Lok Sabha members. Of these, two are ministers of Cabinet rank, one minister of state with independent charge and three ministers of state. The post of Union minister for Mr Chiranjeevi appears to be a foregone conclusion since only two legislators of the erstwhile PR were included in the state Cabinet and one MLA was made government Whip.

It, however, is still not certain whether Ms Chowdary will be chosen again over the claims of senior MPs from Kamma caste Kavuri Sambasiva Rao and Rayapati Sambasiva Rao. Another important factor is that of the six ministers representing the state currently, there is only one Union minister from the entire Telangana region and it is still to be seen whether the claims of some of the senior Congress MPs from the region will be addressed to or not.