Vijayawada: Stage all set for new cabinet swearing-in

Vijayawada: What will be the shape of the new council of ministers? How will CM Jagan avoid any kind of dissent, while ensuring social justice and caste equations? Amid such speculations, he has reportedly completed the tortuous selection of new faces and removal of some for his new cabinet which will take oath at 11.31 am on Monday.

According to the Advisor to the state government, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, the new cabinet would be a mix of old and new ministers. About 10 from the outgoing cabinet may be retained. He said the picture would be clear by Sunday afternoon.

Though the Chief Minister assured cabinet rank to some of the seniors, they are said to be unhappy over their exclusion from the new cabinet. With the increase in the number of districts to 26, several MLAs are pinning hopes on cabinet berths. For example, in Chittoor district there are four from Reddy community in the race: P Ramachandra Reddy, Roja Reddy, B Karunakar Reddy and Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy. Chevireddy is now out of race as the CM spoke to him and extended his tenure as Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) by two years. His tenure is to end in July. Sources say that the possibility of retaining P Ramachandra Reddy who represents Punganuru is high.

If that happens, it is to be seen whether CM would accommodate another Reddy from Chittoor district or not. Sajjala said that the list of those who would be inducted into the cabinet would be sent to the Governor on Sunday. The CM had already sent the resignations of the council of ministers to the Governor, he said. Meanwhile, all MLAs and MLCs have been asked to be present for the swearing-in ceremony.