Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had proposed to take Industries Minister late Mekapati Gowtham Reddy’s family members into his new cabinet. He had initially proposed Gowtham Reddy’s wife to be in the cabinet. He also held talks with Gowtham Reddy’s father Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, a long-standing politician on the issue.

Jagan Mohan Reddy wanted to take Gowtham Reddy’s widow into the cabinet and make her the party candidate for the by-election, as the children are too young to be taken to the Assembly. The family initially welcomed the move, it is said but now has rejected it as Gowtham Reddy’s widow is not interested in politics.

Sources say that Gowtham Reddy’s widow is more interested in grooming her children and she is not ready to take up the political assignments of her husband. Rajamohan Reddy too was not interested in bringing his daughter-in-law into public life or pressuring her.

The family had already communicated the decision to Jagan Mohan Reddy. This would make Jagan Mohan Reddy to look around in Nellore district to be in the cabinet as he also plans to drop Anil Kumar Yadav from the cabinet.

In Nellore, Jagan Mohan Reddy favours Kakani Govardhan Reddy and Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, both his strong loyalists. While Kotamreddy is considered a short tempered in politics, the chief minister is said to be tilting towards Kakani, who is now heading the AP Assembly Privileges Committee.

However, all this is speculation from the people around the chief minister’s office in Tadepalli or who are close to the chief minister. Practically, there is said to be no one with whom Jagan Mohan Reddy opens up his mind and thus there is no chance to know what exactly is going on in Jagan Mohan Reddy’s brain!