If at all YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy decides to expand and reshuffle his council of ministers, senior party leader and three-time legislator from Macherla Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy is the front runner for the cabinet berth.
This is the talk going on in the party circles. While every party MLA is strongly lobbying for the cabinet berths, Pinnelli appears to be proving his worth with his performance in the constituency.
“If Jagan stands by his words that those who show better performance in the local body elections would be rewarded and those who failed to secure victory for the party would be sacked, Pinnelli will be in the front row to get a berth in the state cabinet,” a party leaders said.
According to party sources, more than 90 per cent of the mandal parishad territorial constituency members (MPTCs) in Macherla assembly constituency are going to be elected unanimously, as there are virtually no candidates from the opposition parties to file the nominations.
Even in Durgi mandal in his constituency, which has been the bastion of the TDP since 1983, the situation has completely turned in favour of the YSRC now, thanks to Pinnelli’s influence. The TDP could not find any candidate to field for Durgi MPTC seat this time.
“Pinnelli’s strength has been growing with every election. His vote share has been on the rise in the last three assembly elections. He is no more a leader confined just to Macherla, but has emerged as a state leader now. So, he stands a better chance to become the cabinet minister sooner or later,” the party leader said.