Ending several days of speculation, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy announced the list of names for the new Cabinet on April 10, Sunday. The 25 ministers will be administered their oaths by Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan at 11.31 am on Monday, April 11. While eleven of the 25 members of the previous cabinet have retained their ministerial positions, 14 new people have been added to the revamped Cabinet. Earlier on April 7, all 24 ministers of the previous cabinet submitted their resignations to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and their resignations were accepted by the Governor on April 10.
The eleven ministers who have been retained are Botcha Satyanarayana, Buggana Rajendranath, Audimulapu Suresh, Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, Seediri Appalaraju, Taneti Vanita, K Narayanaswamy, Amzath Basha Shaik Bepari, Gummanur Jayaram, Pinipe Viswarupu, and Chelluboyina Srinivasa Venugopalakrishna. The newly-inducted MLAs are Gudivada Amarnath, Budi Mutyala Naidu, Dadisetti Raja, Rajanna Dora Peedika, Dharmana Prasada Rao, Jogi Ramesh, Ambati Rambabu, Merugu Nagarjuna, Vidadala Rajini, Kottu Satyanarayana, Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, RK Roja, Kakani Govardhana Reddy, and Ushasri Charan.
YSRCP General Secretary and Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy told the media on the evening of April 10 that the revamped Cabinet has given importance to representation of Backward Classes by inducting 11 members of BCs and minorities, 5 members from SC communities, one from ST, while the previous cabinet had 8 members from BCs and minorities. The number of women in the cabinet has also gone up from three to four members, he noted. “In 2019, of 25 ministers, 56% of them were from the SC, ST, OBC and minority sections of the society. This time, the CM has increased their representation in the cabinet to 68%,” he said.
The forming of the new cabinet was reportedly finalised while accounting for caste and regional equations and also retaining senior ministers. The new cabinet will comprise four members of the Kapu community (Gudivada Amarnath, Dadisetti Raja, Ambati Rambabu, Kottu Satyanarayana), four members of the Reddy community (RK Roja, Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, Kakani Govardhana Reddy, Buggana Rajendranath), ten members from Backward Classes (Botcha Satyanarayana who belongs to the Turpu Kapu community, Budi Mutyala Naidu, Chelluboyina Srinivasa Venugopalakrishna, Dharmana Prasada Rao, Seediri Appalaraju, Jogi Ramesh, Vidadala Rajini, Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, Gummanur Jayaram, Ushasri Charan), five members from Scheduled Castes (Pinipe Viswarupu, Merugu Nagarjuna, Taneti Vanita, K Narayanaswamy, Audimulapu Suresh), one member from Scheduled Tribes (Rajanna Dora Peedika) and one Muslim member (Amzath Basha Shaik Bepari).
While the state was recently reorganised into 26 districts, as per the old districts, there are two ministers from Visakhapatnam (Gudivada Amarnath and Budi Mutyala Naidu), three from East Godavari (Dadisetti Raja, Pinipe Viswarupu, Chelluboyina Srinivasa Venugopalakrishna), two from Vizianagaram (Botcha Satyanarayana and Rajanna Dora Peedika), two from Srikakulam (Dharmana Prasada Rao and Seediri Appalaraju), one from Krishna (Jogi Ramesh), three from Guntur (Ambati Rambabu, Merugu Nagarjuna, Vidadala Rajini), three from West Godavari (Kottu Satyanarayana, Taneti Vanita, Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao), three from Chittoor (RK Roja, Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, K Narayanaswamy), one from Nellore (Kakani Govardhana Reddy), one from Kadapa (Amzath Basha Shaik Bepari), two from Kurnool (Buggana Rajendranath, Gummanur Jayaram), one from Anantapur (Ushasri Charan) and one from Prakasam (Audimulapu Suresh).
Leaders from other communities who could not be inducted into the cabinet were compensated with other important posts, while other leaders like Kolagatla Veerabhadra Swamy from the Arya Vysya community will be appointed as Deputy Speaker; Mudunuri Naga Raja Vara Prasad Raju of Raju community will be appointed as Government Chief Whip, Kodali Nani from Kamma community will be nominated as Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Development Board (APSDB), and Malladi Vishnu from Brahmin community will also be appointed to a post in the Andhra Pradesh State Planning Board, Sajjala said.
In 2019, the Jagan government appointed five Deputy Chief Ministers, including four leaders from SC, ST, minority and BC communities. The same has continued in the revamped cabinet, Sajjala added.