In what the YSR Congress called a “socially-inclusive Cabinet”, 25 new ministers were on Saturday inducted into Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Council of Ministers. In line with his electoral promise, Jagan gave Cabinet berths to seven legislators from BC, five from SC, one each from ST, Minority, Vysya and Kshatriya, four each from Kapu and Reddy communities. A look at new members of the Cabinet:
Mekathoti Sucharitha: Age - 41
Portfolios: Home and Disaster Management
An MLA from the Prathipadu (SC reserved) constituency in Guntur, she has become the first woman to hold the Home Minister post in the State after the bifurcation. In the undivided Andhra Pradesh, Sabitha Indra Reddy held the portfolio in the YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s Cabinet. Sucharitha, an Arts graduate, started her political career as a ZPTC member from Phirangipuram mandal of Guntur and, in 2009, she was asked to contest from Prathipadu by the then CM. She won the election, but resigned in 2012 to join the newly-formed YSR Congress, the party floated by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy after his father’s demise. In that year’s by-elections, she contested on a YSRC ticket and won by a margin of 16,781 votes. However, in 2014, she lost the election to Ravela Kishore Babu of the TDP. She contested from the constituency in 2019, and won against her TDP counterpart and former minister Dokka Manikya Vara Prasad by a margin of 7,398. A loyalist of Jagan, she has championed several public causes in her constituency, though she was not elected in the last term.
Pamula Pushpa Sreevani: Age - 33
Portfolio: Deputy Chief Minister (Tribal Welfare)
The Kurupam (ST reserved) MLA, Pamula Pushpa Sreevani, is the youngest in the 25-member Cabinet of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. A native of Doramamidi in Buttaygudem mandal in West Godavari district, she married Satrucharla Parikshit Raju of Chinamerangi village in Vizianagaram district in 2014. She was a teacher by profession and studied BSc and BEd. In 2014, she joined politics and won the Kurupam MLA seat on YSRC ticket defeating TDP’s VT Janardhan Thatraj by a margin of 19,083 votes. In 2019, she contested form the same constituency and defeated Narasimha Priya Tataraj by a margin of 26,602 votes. A staunch loyalist of the YSR family, she formed a habit of sharing her grief with the portrait of YS Rajasekhara Reddy. In the run-up to the 2019 elections, she was put under tremendous pressure by TDP leaders to shift loyalties. Once, a murder attempt was made on her husband, but she stayed put in the YSRC. She is known for championing the causes of tribals.
Anil Kumar Poluboina: Age - 39
Portfolio: Irrigation (Water Resources)
The MLA from Nellore city is from Yadava community (BC). A loyalist of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, he contested elections from the constituency in 2009 for the first time on Congress ticket, but lost by a narrow margin of just 91 votes. However, he won in his second electoral foray from Nellore in 2014. In 2019, he defeated former minister P Narayana of the TDP by a margin of 1,988 votes. Though he did his BDS from SRM University in Chennai, he chose to look after his family business of real estate. He started his political career as a municipal corporator in 2008. After his paternal uncle P Sudhakar Yadav’s death, he contested for division 20 under Nellore Municipal Corporation and won. Known for being vocal about his opinions, Anil Kumar has vowed to live up to the expectations of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. He has become a minister for the first time.
Mopidevi Venkataramana: Age - 55
Portfolio: Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Marketing
Former minister from Repalle Assembly constituency in Guntur district, Mopidevi Venkataramana lost in the 2019 elections against TDP candidate Anagani Satya Prasad. However, it did not deter Jagan from inducting him into the cabinet, showing that he will be supportive to those loyal to him. Mopidevi is from the fishermen community, one of the backward ones in the state. He was a staunch supporter of YS Rajasekhara Reddy and served as a minister in his cabinet in 2004 and 2009. Though, he was suffering from ill health, he contested the 2014 elections on YSRC ticket. However, he is active in party affairs. Venkataramana started his political career in 1984 as an MPP. He contested for the first time in 1989 from Repalle constituency, but lost the election. He even lost in the 1994 polls. However, he won from the Kuchinapudi constituency in 1994 and 2004, and became Repalle MLA in 2009.
To know more about the ministers, check the list below.
