AP: Kiran cabinet likely to be expanded

HYDERABAD: With Congress chief Sonia Gandhi reportedly promising a place in the union ministry to actor-politician K Chiranjeevi, signals point to an expansion of the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet in the near future to include members of the erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party (PRP).Apart from the vacancies created by the exit of Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, Jupalli Krishna Rao and Y S Vivekananda Reddy, five more seats are yet to be filled.Sources tipped Anakapalli MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao and MLC C Ramachandraiah to fill two of these slots when the cabinet expansion takes place.The Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet came into being with 39 ministers -- including the chief minister -- on Dec. 1 last year. There can be a maximum number of 44 ministers.Ever since the PRP merged with the ruling party in February, its members have been waiting for a payback from Delhi, which was delayed due to the Telangana unrest, Sonia Gandhi’s illness and other reasons. The PRP component in the Congress believes the expansion will take place before the commencement of the winter session but the Congress leaders are not sure.