VIJAYWADA: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s new team will be sworn in at 11.31 am on Monday. The venue would be the vacant space near Secretariat. The Cabinet would be a mix of those who had recently resigned and the new and Backward Classes will be given more representation.
For the second day in a row, Jagan sat with his advisor and party general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy for almost three hours to pick his new team. “The exercise will continue till Sunday afternoon,” Sajjala informed after coming out of the meeting, adding that the new members upon being selected will get calls from the CMO on Sunday.
Sources said that at least seven ministers might be re-inducted into the new Cabinet. Since the team would canvass the government’s policies in the run-up to the 2024 elections, the CM is said to have decided to give more priority to Backward Classes in the revamped Cabinet. Home Minister is likely to be a woman again. It is unlikely that there would be a representation from each of the 26 districts going by the caste and other equations.
The CM is said to have narrowed down on at least three leaders from each of the undivided 13 districts. All the ministers who resigned were also asked to make themselves available in Amaravati and they were asked to attend the swearing-in ceremony to send a signal that there is no dissidence among those who failed to find a place in Jagan’s new team.
The chief minister will host high-tea for his old and new Cabinet colleagues after the swearing-in ceremony.