The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu was sworn in as Chief Minister of residual Andhra Pradesh for the second time.
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer administered the oath of office to Mr. Naidu on June 12 at Kesarapalle close to Gannavaram near Vijayawada. This is the fourth time that Mr. Naidu will be serving as Chief Minister in his more than four decades of political career. He served as Chief Minister of combined Andhra Pradesh twice, and this is his second term in residual Andhra Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Medical and Health Minister and the BJP National president JP Nadda, Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, former Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, matinee idols Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi, and a host of VVIPs attended the ceremony.
The Jana Sena Party (JSP) Chief Pawan Kalyan, and 24 other MLAs from the TDP, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the JSP also took oath as Cabinet ministers of Andhra Pradesh. The total strength of the cabinet including Mr. Naidu is 25, as of now.
The TDP, JSP and BJP - partners of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), fought the Assembly elections 2024 against YSRCP. Except for 11 Assembly seats won by the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the NDA bagged the remaining seats out of the total 1 75 Assembly constituencies in the State.
While the TDP won from 135 Assembly constituencies, the JSP and the BJP won from 21 and 8 Assembly constituencies respectively. Mr. Naidu allocated three berths to the JSP and one to the BJP going by their numbers in the State Assembly. Mr. Naidu adopted a formula to ensure that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners will get their due share in the Cabinet. He selected a minister for each 7 MLAs won by the alliance partner. As the JSP won 21 seats, it got three berths, while the BJP which won from 8 Assembly constituencies got one ministerial berth. The remaining were earmarked to the TDP. The Chief Minister will allocate the portfolios to his cabinet colleagues shortly.
It is widely discussed in political circles that Mr. Kalyan will be made Deputy Chief Minister with a key portfolio. The cine actor turned politician played a key role in stitching an alliance between the TDP and the BJP. Mr. Kalyan continued his efforts to convince the BJP leaders on alliance with the TDP though he received a cold-shouldered response. He, finally, was successful in allying with TDP, JSP and BJP. It helped in a debacle of the YSRCP.
Kolusu Parthasarathy, who switched loyalties from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to the TDP just before the elections, was taken into the Cabinet.
Only two former ministers, K. Atchannaidu (TDP AP president) and P. Narayana, in 2014-19 cabinet got a chance in the present cabinet. N. Md Farooq, a senior minority politician who was with the TDP since the formation and had served as a minister with various portfolios earlier, is the lone minority face in the cabinet.
The lone minister from BJP is Satya Kumar Yadav, who won from Dharmavaram Assembly constituency. He is a close aide of former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and works as National Secretary of the BJP.
Mr. Naidu did not induct the senior leaders and MLAs such as Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary and Dhulipala Narendra. Even former ministers like Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, Nimmakayala Chinna Rajappa, Kaluva Srinivasulu, Kala Venkat Rao, Ayyanna Patrudu and others were not accommodated.
