Union minister G Kishan Reddy skips Union Cabinet meet after appointment as Telangana BJP president

A day after his appointment as the Telangana BJP president, Union minister G Kishan Reddy skipped the meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

Though no official reason was cited for his absence, some leaders believe it could be an indication of his likely exit from the Union Cabinet ahead of its expected reshuffle.

Reddy, the Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of the North East Region, was on Tuesday appointed as the president of the BJP's Telangana unit.

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The BJP also has the norm of one-person-one-post.

A source close to Reddy declined to comment on whether he will be quitting from the Cabinet.

He has been a dedicated party worker for decades and will discharge whatever responsibility its leadership assigns to him, the source said.

Prime Minister Modi is expected to reshuffle his Council of Ministers soon, and the organisational changes in the BJP are seen as a precursor to that as the ruling party prepares for a host of state polls this year followed by the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

There has been no official comment from the party or the government on the widely speculated reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers.