Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, who was promoted to the cabinet rank on Wednesday, remained the only face in the Narendra Modi government from the two Telugu states. He was sworn in as Union Minister of Culture and Union Minister of Tourism and Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region. One of the prominent faces of the BJP in Telangana, Kishan Reddy is a first-term MP from Secunderabad, one of the Lok Sabha constituencies in Hyderabad. Kishan Reddy is among the four BJP MPs from Telangana. Some party leaders were hoping that Soyam Bapu Rao, who represents Adilabad constituency, may be inducted, but no other face from Telangana found a place in the expansion. Before the reshuffle, when TNM reached out to Nizamabad BJP MP D Aravind to inquire if he had received a call from the party’s high command amid speculation, he said, “This is confidential, nothing can be revealed.” However, it was clear later that he had not received a call nor was he part of those hand-picked for the cabinet.
Andhra Pradesh remained the only southern state which had no representation in the Union Cabinet. The party has no MP from Andhra Pradesh. Kishan Reddy, who also served as three-time MLA, has been associated with BJP since its inception. He began his political career as an ordinary party worker and worked his way up in the organisation. Popular among his supporters as 'Krishananna', the 60-year-old's calm demeanour betrays his inner strength. He had served as BJP floor leader in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Assemblies.
Hailing from Ranga Reddy district, he was born in a farmers' family in 1960. He earned a diploma in tool designs from the Central Institute of Tool Designs in Hyderabad. He drew inspiration from Lokmanya Jayaprakash Narayan and joined BJP as a youth worker. He was rewarded for his unflinching commitment by the party by being appointed as the national President of the party's youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in 2002. He was also President of BJP's state unit in undivided Andhra Pradesh for two terms from 2010 to 2014. After bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, he became President of the Telangana unit of the party and held the post till 2016.
He was first elected to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in 2004 from Himayatnagar constituency in Hyderabad. After the delimitation of constituencies in 2009, he contested from Amberpet and went on to win two terms as MLA from the constituency. He also served as floor leader of the party in both the state Assemblies. He lost the Amberpet Assembly constituency in the elections held in 2018 but was picked up as party candidate for Lok Sabha elections from Secunderabad.
As Amberpet is one of the Assembly segments under Secunderabad, Kishan Reddy was not new to the constituency and with good support among urban electorate, he made it to the Lok Sabha. Kishan Reddy thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the trust reposed in him. “I will sincerely make an endeavour to live up to his expectations and that of my people,” he said in a statement.
He also thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his guidance and support. "Training under Shah has given me focus and discipline for which I am indebted to him. I thank all the senior leaders and the president of BJP JP Nadda," he added.
Kishan Reddy said he will now have a two-fold strategy. He said he would strengthen the hands of PM Modi to contribute to his dream of building a new India. "I shall actively contribute to the development of Telangana in a manner that the aspirations, vision and dreams of our martyrs are realised," said Reddy while thanking people of his constituency.