Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty Hyderabad

Isthe Endowment Ministry proving unlucky even for Konda Surekha? It seems so. There is a belief that leaders, who serve as Endowment Ministers tend to face political problems and setbacks in their careers.

This belief has persisted in both the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and the present-day Andhra Pradesh. Leaders such as late Dandu Shivaramaraju, Simhadri Satyanarayana, Gade Venkat Reddy, C Ramachandraiah, KE Krishna Murthy, Pydikondala Manikyala Rao, Vellampalli Srinivas, Kottu Sathyanarayana, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, JT Rama Rao, J Ratnakar Rao, M Satyanarayana Rao, KV Ramana Reddy, S Gangadhar and Mahipal Reddy have served as Endowments Ministers, while Anam Ramanarayana Reddy is currently serving as the Endowments Minister. However, according to political observers, the political careers of many of these leaders did not progress as expected.Similarly, in the separate state of Telangana, a similar belief seems to exist. Allola Indrakaran Reddy, who served as Endowment Minister during the BRS regime, lost the 2023 Assembly elections from the Nirmal constituency. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Indrakaran Reddy resigned from the BRS and joined the Congress on May 1 in the presence of Deepa Dasmunshi, the Congress party's Telangana affairs in-charge at the time.

Against this backdrop, questions are being raised over whether the Endowment portfolio is proving equally challenging for the present Minister, Konda Surekha. Since assuming office, Surekha has frequently found herself at the centre of controversies. Now, she is reportedly on the verge of being dismissed from the Cabinet.

A Congress party leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Konda Surekha had been facing repeated controversies and criticism from some party MLAs and Ministers. The leader alleged that Ministers and MLAs had frequently interfered in matters relating to her ministry, resulting in controversies, besides those arising from her own outbursts.

The leader also referred to the recent controversy surrounding remarks made by Konda Surekha's daughter, Sushmitha, against Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

The leader said that 17 MLAs and two MLCs held a media conference at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) office and found fault with Konda Surekha and her daughter over the remarks made against the Chief Minister, following Surekha's reply to a notice issued by the TPCC Disciplinary Action Committee seeking her explanation.

However, the Congress leader questioned why the MLAs and MLCs, who criticised Konda Surekha and her daughter for openly criticising the Chief Minister instead of raising their concerns through party forums, had themselves chosen to raise the issue publicly through a press conference rather than taking it up with the party leadership internally.

He said everything seemed to be turning negative for Surekha and that her political future was now in the hands of the party high command. It was not yet clear what the high command was considering regarding the Konda Surekha issue, he added.

The latest developments have once again brought the Endowment portfolio and its political implications into focus, with the controversy surrounding Konda Surekha adding to the ongoing debate within the Telangana Congress.