Chiranjeevi, four others from Andhra Pradesh may get cabinet berths

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Andhra Pradesh, the state with the highest number of Congress MPs, is likely to get a lion's share in Sunday's cabinet reshuffle.

Actor-turned-politician K. Chiranjeevi and former chief minister K. Vijayabhaskara Reddy's son K. Suryaprakash Reddy are among five Congress MPs who are likely to be inducted into the cabinet.

Killi Krupa Rani, Balram Naik and Sarve Satyanarayana are also likely to get cabinet berths. Barring Chiranjeevi, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, others are members of the lower house of parliament.

Satyanarayana and Balram Naik are from Telangana region while Chiranjeevi and Krupa Rani are from coastal Andhra Pradesh. Suryaprakash Reddy is from Rayalaseema region.

The central leadership is reported to have advised them to be available in the national capital Sunday.

Chiranjeevi, the Telugu superstar who had merged his Praja Rajyam Party with the Congress last year, is leaving for Delhi Saturday evening.

Ministers of state Pallam Raju and D. Purandareswari are also expected to get promotions. According to party sources, Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju may get an independent charge. Minister of State for Human Resources Development Purandareswari, daughter of late chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N.T. Rama Rao, is likely to get the commerce portfolio.

The state already has five ministers in the central cabinet, including S. Jaipal Reddy and Kishore Chandra Deo.

Congress has 32 members of the Lok Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. In the 2009 general elections, the party had bagged 34 seats, but two of them were wrested by YSR Congress Party.