Andhra CM Jagan Reddy set to rejig cabinet as all ministers resign

All 24 Ministers on Thursday submitted their resignation to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy ahead of the proposed reorganisation of the council of ministers.

The incumbent ministers put in their papers at the meeting of the cabinet, which was their last, at the secretariat in Amaravati.

The ministers remained in their posts for exactly 34 months.

“We have all submitted our resignations. The Chief Minister said some experienced ministers would be re-inducted to run the government. Some others will be given party responsibilities,” Information and public relations minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

The AP Council of Ministers will be reconstituted here on April 11 with new faces. At least four ministers, who resigned today may be re-inducted into the Cabinet on the 11th, the ruling YSR Congress sources said.

The chief minister had a meeting with Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan on Wednesday night, wherein the cabinet reorganisation was discussed, the sources said.

Caste criteria is likely to play a key role in the formation of the new cabinet, they noted.

When he took over as Chief Minister on May 30, 2019, Jagan had announced that he would undertake a complete overhaul of his Cabinet after two and a half years and take-in a new team.

The current cabinet was sworn-in on June 8, 2019 and was supposed to be in office till December 8, 2021.

For a variety of reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the cabinet reorganization was put off even past the due date.

Last month, the chief minister announced that he would undertake the cabinet reorganisation after Ugadi (Telugu New Year's Day that fell on April 2) and the subsequent formation of new districts.

The new districts came into being on April 4, clearing the way for the cabinet rejig.

According to indications from the ruling YSR Congress, the existing structure of the council of ministers would be retained, with five deputy chief ministers in place.

One DCM post will be given each to a legislator belonging to SC, ST, Muslim, Backward Caste and Kapu communities.

Based on the caste calculations, at least four incumbent ministers may be re-inducted into the new cabinet.

Apart from the Reddy community, the main support group of the YSRC, Kapu is also expected to get the same preference in the fresh Cabinet as well, essentially to counter the opposition Jana Sena of film star Pawan Kalyan.

The one community to be left out again would be Brahmin, which has to remain content with the assembly deputy speaker post.

Like in the outgoing Cabinet, the new one is also expected to have at least three women members.

Senior minister Botsa Satyanarayana, who also worked under Jagan's father late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, said they would now work with the responsibility of bringing the YSRC back to power (in the 2024 elections).

“The chief minister had clearly said the Cabinet would be re-constituted after two and a half years. The Chief Minister himself will decide whom to continue in the new cabinet,” Botsa told media.

Velampalli Srinivas, who held the endowments portfolio in the outgoing cabinet, said they would abide by the chief minister's decision.

Another outgoing minister Sri Venkateswara Rao noted that the CM himself felt “more sad than us” over the resignations.

“We clearly told the chief minister we will abide by his decision. New legislators will get an opportunity to become ministers,” he added.