Vangalapudi Anitha as youngest minister

Visakhapatnam: Vangalapudi Anitha took her oath as the youngest minister on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone in her career. She is 40.

The ceremony was held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of other dignitaries.

In the 25-member cabinet, the youthful faces are of Nara Lokesh aged 41, Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy 42, TG Bharat at 43, Vasamsetti Subhash 46 and Gottipati Ravi Kumar 47.

Anitha, an energetic MLA from Payakaraopet, had won the polls in 2014 to 2019. Since 2020, she was state president of the ‘Telugu Women’ wing of the party. Her political journey has been marked by both achievements and controversies.

Anitha won the Payakaraopet seat in 2014 by defeating Chengala Venkatrao of the YSR Congress by a margin of 2,828 votes. As an MLA, she was actively involved in various developmental projects. She was also noted her advocacy of women's rights.

In 2018, Anitha was nominated to the TTD board, a position she later quit later following a controversy. A video clip from a 2014 interview surfaced, in which she was identified as a Christian carrying a Bible in her hand. This led to objections from Hindu groups.

Despite facing defeat in the 2019 elections, when she lost the Kovvuru seat to Taneti Vanitha of the YSRC by 25,248 votes, Anitha's political career continued to be on the ascend. In January 2021, she was made president of Telugu Mahila.

Throughout her career, Anitha faced both support and opposition. Notably, in 2017, she was involved in a heated exchange with YSRC MLA Roja. This led to Roja's suspension from the assembly for a year.