The new cabinet of Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh is expected to be sworn in at 11.31 am on Monday, with seven to 10 ministers of the old cohort being retained, reported news agency ANI, quoting sources.
All 24 ministers of the cabinet had resigned on Thursday in a move that was “happily" welcomed by Chief Minister Reddy as part of the preparation for upcoming state elections in 2024.
The ministers remained in their posts for exactly 34 months.
The CM had a meeting with Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan on Wednesday night, wherein the cabinet reorganisation was discussed.
When he took over as CM on 30 May 2019, Jagan had announced that he would undertake a complete overhaul of his cabinet after two and a half years and take in a new team.
The older cabinet was sworn in on 8 June 2019 and was supposed to be in office till 8 December 2021. For several reasons, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the cabinet reorganization was put off even past the due date.
Last month, the CM announced that he would undertake the cabinet reorganisation after Ugadi (Telugu New Year’s Day that fell on 2 April) and the subsequent formation of new districts. The new districts came into being on 4 April, clearing the way for the Cabinet rejig.
Reddy on Wednesday, handed over the final list of the 19 ministers being dropped from the cabinet to the Governor, sources had stated.
They said that the existing structure of the council of ministers would be retained, with five Deputy CMs in place. One DCM post will be given each to a legislator belonging to SC, ST, Muslim, Backward Caste and Kapu communities.
Also, there are 11 ministers from upper castes, including four from the Reddy community, seven from OBC, five from SC, and one each from ST and Muslim communities.
With inputs from agencies.
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