Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar and Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu are likely to be sworn in as ministers after the oath-taking ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday, June 9. Ram Mohan Naidu is speculated to be inducted into the Cabinet, party leader and former Guntur MP Galla Jayadev tweeted that Chandra Sekhar will be sworn in as Minister of State (MoS).
A cabinet minister is a member of the union cabinet and leads a ministry while a MoS is a junior minister reporting to a cabinet minister and tasked with a specific responsibility in the ministry.
Chandra Sekhar, a non-resident Indian (NRI) medical professional from the United States, won the Guntur constituency seat. He is the wealthiest member of the 18th Lok Sabha, having declared family assets worth over Rs 5,705 crore in his affidavit to the Election Commission. The 48-year-old, who holds an MD in internal medicine from Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania, made his political debut this election. He is the founder and CEO of 'UWorld', an online learning platform, and has been active in charitable activities, including providing scholarships and organising health camps through the Pemmasani Foundation. He also led a free water supply initiative in the Narasaraopet area of Guntur district.
Chandra Sekhar bagged the prestigious Ernst and Young award as a young entrepreneur in 2020 competing with about 200 top business leaders in the US. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu fielded Chandra Sekhar from Guntur following the withdrawal of former sitting MP Galla Jayadev, owner of Amara Raja Batteries Limited. Jayadev alleged that his business was targeted by government agencies. Chandrasekhar got 864,948 votes and defeated YSR Congress Party’s (YSRCP) Kilari Venkata Rosaiah with a margin of 3.4 lakh votes.
Ram Mohan Naidu, a three time MP, would be the youngest Union Cabinet Minister in the third term of the Narendra Modi-led government. The 36-year-old, representing Srikakulam constituency secured a victory in the recent Lok Sabha elections by a margin of 3.27 lakh votes. He is the son of former Union Cabinet Minister Yerran Naidu, who was the youngest cabinet minister in 1996. Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, TDP’s politburo member, is the uncle of Ram Mohan Naidu.
Ram Mohan is married to Shravya, daughter of senior TDP leader Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy. He pursued his undergraduate studies in Electrical Engineering Purdue University, followed by a postgraduate degree in MBA from Long Island.
Considered a close aide of Chandrababu Naidu, Ram Mohan entered politics at the age of 26 following his father's death in 2012 and became the National General Secretary of TDP. He has served on multiple parliamentary committees and was honoured with the Sansad Ratna Award in 2020 for his outstanding performance as an MP.