Telugu Desam Partymen On Tenterhooks

Vijayawada: Senior leaders and MLAs of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were on tenterhooks on Saturday evening after chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu called for a meeting of all cabinet ministers.

The chief minister's son Nara Lokesh is expected to be given a crucial portfolio in the cabinet rejig. At the appointed time of 6 pm, the ministers and partymen started arriving at the CM's office along with their followers and supporters. Several MLAs also brought their constituency ZPTCs and MPTCs in a show of strength before the chief minister. The ministers, meanwhile, were apprehensive as they were unsure about their retention in the cabinet. Speculation is also rife that Chandrababu Naidu may ask some of his ministers to resign to their posts to enable him to make a quick decision for Sunday's cabinet expansion exercise. Amid these fears among TDP cadre is also the rumour that actor Balakrishna is also in the race for a ministerial berth.

On Saturday evening, however, the chief minister met the ministers in phases and did not address all of them at a time. He first met ministers KE Krishna Murthy, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Pithala Sujata and Ravela Kishore among a couple of others.