VIJAYAWADA : TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is set to take oath as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh at 11.27 am on Wednesday during a grand function that is scheduled to be held at Kesarapalli on the outskirts of Vijayawada.
Governor S Abdul Nazeer invited Naidu to form the government when the latter called on him at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday.
Earlier, TDP State president and Tekkali MLA K Atchannaidu, BJP AP State president and Rajahmundry MP D Purandeswari, and Jana Sena Political Affairs Committee (PAC) chairman and Tenali MLA Nadendla Manohar called on the Governor and conveyed their unanimous decision to elect Naidu as the NDA Legislature Party leader.
They declared their support for Naidu as the Chief Minister of the State.
A host of dignitaries such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other newly-inducted Cabinet ministers, including JP Nadda and Bandi Sanjay Kumar will attend the ceremony. Prominent actors like Chiranjeevi and Rajnikanth will also be present.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made with the NSG taking control over the venue. More than one lakh activists and cadre of the three parties are likely to witness the event.
It has been learnt that the entire Cabinet may also be sworn-in along with Naidu.
Speculation is rife that JSP chief Pawan Kalyan would be given the Deputy Chief Minister post.
Speaking at the NDA MLAs meeting held on Tuesday, Naidu hinted at Pawan Kalyan being inducted into the Cabinet and said an announcement in this regard would be made on Wednesday morning.
In such a scenario, Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh is unlikely to be a part of the Cabinet, sources said and added that he might be given the responsibility of overseeing party affairs and even be elevated to the top post in the TDP.
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Amit Shah arrived in Vijayawada on Tuesday night and held discussions with Naidu on Cabinet berth sharing.
Soon after taking charge, the Chief Minister is likely to sign a file for conducting a mega DSC (District Selection Committee) exam to fill vacant teacher posts across the State. It may be pointed out that Naidu, during electioneering, had promised that the first file he would sign after assuming charge would be on the mega DSC.
Furthermore, Naidu is likely to fly to Tirumala on Thursday morning and have darshan of Lord Venkateswara at the Srivari temple.
The NDA registered a thumping victory in Andhra Pradesh by winning 164 of the 175 Assembly seats and 21 of the 25 MP seats. The TDP, on its own, won 135 MLA seats.
One BJP and three JSP MLAs in Naidu's Cabinet
Three MLAs from the Jana Sena Party and one from the BJP have found spot in Chandrababu Naidu’s 24-member Cabinet.
The development came following a late-night meeting between Union Ministers Amit Shah, JP Nadda and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu.
A day before Naidu’s oath-taking ceremony, the duo landed in Vijayawada and closeted with the CM-designate to finalise the number of Cabinet berths that the BJP will be allocated in the NDA government in the State.
BJP State president D Purandeswari, TDP national secretary Nara Lokesh and a host of other leaders welcomed the duo at the Vijayawada International Airport in Gannavaram on Tuesday.
Besides Naidu, legislators who are part of the State Cabinet include JSP chief Pawan Kalyan, Lokesh, K Atchannaidu, Kol lu Ravindra, Nadendla Manohar, P Narayana, Vangalapudi Anitha, Y Satya Kumar Yadav, Nimmala Ramanaidu, NMD Farooq, Anam Ramnarayan Reddy, Payyavula Keshav, Anagani Satya Prasad, K Pardasaradhi, Dola Veeranjaneya Swamy, G Ravi Kumar, Kandula Durgesh, Gummadu Sandhya Rani, BC Janardhan Reddy, TG Bharat, S Savitha, V Subhash, K Srinivas and M Ramprasad Reddy.