AP cabinet may be formed on Saturday

Chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy likely to get Sonia's green signal soon

Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's (YSR) longer than expected shuttling between Hyderabad and Delhi for the Congress party high command's endorsement on the state cabinet formation is expected to end in a couple of days.

With the question of the future prime minister and commencement of other formalities being cleared at last, YSR who rushed back to Delhi this morning after just a one-day stop in the state capital, is expected to return with Sonia's green signal.

According to sources, the state cabinet will, in all probability, be formed on Saturday.

Meanwhile, YSR alone has had to discharge the duties of the elected government without a cabinet for the past six days while attending to some pressing issues like the farmers' suicides and the review of the state's financial position.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad and YSR are expected to finish consultations with the high command on the broad outlines and composition of the first batch of the state cabinet by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Party leaders are also expecting the chief minister to return to Hyderabad either on Thursday or on Friday and begin quick consultations with the party MLAs and his confidants to form the state cabinet at the earliest possible day, that is on Saturday.

Speculations about the size of the cabinet and the names of leaders who may find place in the first batch of ministers has been doing the rounds for some time now.

With the Telangana Rashtra Samiti expressing its willingness to join the government not only at the Centre but also in the state has made the whole exercise somewhat difficult.

If rumours are to be believed, the high command is not for a huge ministry. In such a scenario, the chief minister may find it hard to do a balancing act.

Going by the temperament of the TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, any 'maltreatment' of the TRS in cabinet formation (in terms of number of berths and portfolios), would create a controversy.

To make matters worse, there are several senior Congress leaders among the elected party MLAs, who have already served as ministers in the previous governments. This may put even more pressure on the party high command and also on the chief minister in choosing the ministers.

YSR, however, has been quite effective in taking decisions with regards to the naxal issue, power, finance, and irrigation sectors. His announcement of a relief package for farmers has marked a beginning of a fresh approach to the problems faced by the state.

Also,YSR has exhibited utmost maturity in not acting in a haste on the reorganisation of the bureaucracy. He has been taking one step at a time in selecting officers of his choice for the important departments.

And by delegating discretionary powers to lower level government officers in the implementation of the relief package, he also has reposed faith and trust in the lower level administration beside making a first ever effort in decentralising power.