Andhra CM Jagan Reddy pays tribute to his father and former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy
Amravati (Andhra Pradesh):
With an eye on the 2024 assembly elections in the state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is all set for a cabinet reshuffle, with 19 ministers likely to be dropped.
Sources told news agency ANI that the chief minister is likely to induct new ministers in the state cabinet in a few days, with speculations that the swearing-in may also take place on April 9.
Sources told ANI that only four of the current ministers can retain their posts.
Sources said that the Chief Minister will submit the final list of new ministers to Governor Vishwabhushan Harichandran before April 9.
Sri Reddy on Wednesday submitted the final list of 19 ministers reportedly being dropped from the state cabinet to the governor.
There are five deputy chief ministers in the current cabinet. Sri Reddy is likely to have five new deputy chief ministers as part of his strategy to strike a caste balance in the state.
At present, five deputy chief ministers represent the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Castes, Minorities and Kapu communities.
Also, there are 11 ministers from upper castes, including four from Reddy community, seven from OBC, five from SC and one minister each from ST and Muslim communities.
This reshuffle assumes significance, with the state assembly elections due in Andhra Pradesh due in 2024.
Sri Reddy had indicated that he would reconstitute the cabinet after taking over as chief minister during his tenure. The reshuffle was supposed to take place last December, but was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Last month, Sri Reddy had said that the cabinet reorganization would take place after the Telugu New Year Ugadi, which was on April 2.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)