VISAKHAPATNAM: North Andhra continues to get patronage of the successive governments as far as cabinet berths are concerned. The YSRC which made inroads into the TDP citadel in the 2019 elections, has also given top priority to the region in the State cabinet. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had accommodated five MLAs from the erstwhile three North Andhra districts in his first cabinet.
They included Pamula Pushpa Srivani (Kurupam), Dharmana Krishna Das (Narasannapeta), Botcha Satyanarayana (Cheepurupalle), Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao (Bheemili) and Seediri Appala Raju (Palasa).
In the overhaul of the Cabinet, Jagan allotted six ministerial posts to the region. The number of districts in the region has gone up to six in reorganisation. Four districts have got representation in the Cabinet, while Visakhapatnam and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts failed to find a place.
Jagan retained the two Deputy Chief Minister posts for the region. Anakapalle district has got two ministerial posts. They included Gudivada Amarnath (Anakapalle) and Budi Mutyala Naidu (Madugula). Loyalty is said to have tilted scales in their favour. While Mutyala Naidu is a two-time MLA who won in 2014 and 2019, Amarnath was elected to the Assembly for the first time.
Botcha and Dharmana Prasada Rao, senior MLAs from the region, have got berths in the new cabinet. While Botcha retained his berth, Prasada Rao replaced his brother Krishna Das in the new cabinet. The duo served as ministers in the cabinets of former chief ministers YS Rajasekhara Reddy, K Rosaiah and N Kiran Kumar Reddy. Prasada Rao was also a minister in three Congress governments of the erstwhile united AP between 1989 and 1994.
Incidentally, Prasada Rao held the revenue portfolio in the YSR and the subsequent governments. He has been now given the same portfolio by Jagan. Peedika Rajanna Dora from Salur has also been inducted into the cabinet. During the reshuffle of the cabinet, Anakapalle has got the distinction of having ministers in both the TDP and Congress governments earlier and now in the YSRC regime.
Dadi Veerabhadra Rao from Anakapalle was a minister in NT Rama Rao cabinet. Ganta Srinivasa Rao was a minister in Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet. Now, Amarnath has been inducted into Jagan’s cabinet.
Former minister Pamula Pushpa Srivani has failed to get a place in the new cabinet from North Andhra.
The erstwhile combined Visakhapatnam district used to have three ministers in the cabinet. Reddy Satyanarayana (Madugula), Dadi Veerabhadra Rao (Anakapalle) and Ch Ayyanna Patrudu (Narsipatnam) were ministers in the NTR government. In N Janardhana Reddy’s cabinet, Matsyaraju Balaraju (Paderu), Balireddy Satya Rao and Gudivada Gurunadha Rao (now Pendurthi) served as ministers.