All 24 AP ministers quit ahead of reshuffle

Vijayawada: After 1,000 days of their stay in office, all 24 ministers of Andhra Pradesh Cabinet resigned en masse enabling Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to reorganise his Council of Ministers. It is learnt that barring two to four ministers, all others would be replaced.

As the Cabinet meeting began, the incumbent ministers were given letters of resignation prepared by the General Administration Department and at the end of the Cabinet meeting, they signed those letters and handed over to the Chief Minister.

Jagan told the ministers that it is time they focus their attention on the party and lead it to victory again in the next elections. If the YSRCP wins again, it would be the end of political career of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, he is said to have remarked. The new Cabinet would be sworn in on April 11.

Caste criteria is likely to play a key role in the formation of the new Cabinet. 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 Dy CM post each will be given to a legislator belonging to SC, ST, muslim, backward castes and Kapu communities.

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 Brahmins, which may have 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. It is being speculated that Speaker Tammineni Sitaram and Dharmana Prasada Rao would be among the new team.

According to senior minister Botsa Satyanarayana, Jagan had clearly indicated that 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. If drafted for party work, they would work hard to bring the party back to power.

Velampalli Srinivas, who held the Endowments portfolio in the outgoing Cabinet, said they would abide by the Chief Minister's decision.