It is nearly a week since Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expanded his cabinet.
The disgruntlement among the cabinet berth aspirants that was witnessed in the first two days after the cabinet expansion appeared to have subsided gradually, thanks to pacifying tactics of Naidu.
But in many places, the dissidence continues to manifest in some form or the other. For example, in Nellore district, several senior TDP leaders who were upset with the elevation of MLC Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy as the cabinet minister, have been openly expressing their discontent against the party leadership.
Seniors like Anam Vivekanand Reddy and Anam Ramanarayan Reddy, besides former minister Adala Prabhakar Reddy have conveniently skilled the felicitation programme of Somireddy organised by district TDP president Beeda Ravichandra.
In fact, Ramnarayan Reddy is the party in-charge of Atmakur constituency and Adala is in-charge of Nellore rural constituency. Both are sure to get the TDP tickets in the next assembly elections.
Though both of them are not eligible for cabinet posts because they are neither MLAs nor MLCs, they did not like the hegemony of Somireddy, whom they have been opposing since they were in the Congress party.
In East Godavari district, senior party MLA and former minister Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary continued to raise the banner of revolt against Naidu for being denied the cabinet berths.
Gorantla, who wrote a strongly worded letter to Naidu resigning from the TDP general secretary post, also skipped the meeting of East Godavari district party leaders convened by Naidu on Friday evening.
Naidu was terribly upset with Gorantla for dragging the image of the party onto the streets by writing the open letter.
“There are already several Kamma ministers in the cabinet. How can I accommodate Gorantla? He should understand it,” Naidu said.
