VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu took oath as the Chief Minister for the fourth time — two times in the united Andhra Pradesh and two times in residual Andhra Pradesh. Apart from him, 23 others, including Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and Nara Lokesh took the oath of office.
In the presence of a galaxy of national leaders and celebrities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor Abdul Nazeer administered the oath of office and secrecy to Chandrababu Naidu at 11.33 am on Wednesday. The programme was limited to oath-taking without any speeches.
As Naidu uttered, “Nara Chandrababu Naidu Ane Nenu” (I, Nara Chandrababu Naidu), the entire venue having thousands of Telugu Desam supporters erupted in cheers.
After Naidu, Pawan Kalyan took oath once again sending the hall into huge applause. After the oath, Pawan Kalyan walked up to Naidu and shook hands. He later touched the feet of his elder brother Chiranjeevi for his blessings.
Following Pawan Kalyan, Nara Lokesh took the oath and later touched the feet of his father and took blessings. When he tried to touch the feet of Modi, he refused to accept the gesture.
After assuming the charge, an elated Naidu hugged Modi and returned to his chair next to his wife Bhuvaneswari. Naidu was seen cordially talking with Modi, while introducing his ministers to him during the one-hour long programme. Modi was received by Chandrababu Naidu at Vijayawada’s Gannavaram Airport and accompanied him to the venue of the swearing in ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government of the TD-Jana Sena--BJP alliance will take the glory of Andhra Pradesh to higher heights.
In his comment on X (formerly Twitter, Modi observed: “Attended the swearing-in ceremony of AP's new ministers. Congratulations to all ministers who took oath along with CM. The coalition government is committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the youth of the state," Modi tweeted.
Apart from Naidu, 24 ministers took the oath of office and secrecy. They include Deputy Chief Minister (designate) Konidela Pawan Kalyan, Nara Lokesh, Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, Kollu Ravindra, Nadendla Manohar, P. Narayana, Vangalapudi Anitha, Satya Kumar Yadav, Nimmala Ramanaidu, N.M.D. Farook, Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Payyavula Keshav, Anagani Satya Prasad, Kolusu Parthasarathy, Dola Balaveeranjaneyaswamy, Gottipati Ravi, Kandula Durgesh, Gummadi Sandhyarani, BC Janardhan Reddy, T.G. Bharat, S. Savitha, Vasamshetty Subhash, Kondapalli Srinivas, and Mandipalli Ram Prasad Reddy.
As per the BJP’s stated policy of honouring its grassroot workers, the party nominated Satya Kumar as its representative in the Naidu cabinet.
During an informal meeting with the ministers at his residence, Naidu appears to have them told that the portfolios will be allocated by Thursday
The new Cabinet is a mix of social groups under which Naidu offered four ministerial posts to Kammas, three to Reddy community, three to Kapus, two to BC Yadava, each one to SC Mala, SC Madiga, ST, Muslim Minority, Arya Vaisya, Balija, fisherman, Turpu Kapu, Koppula Velama, Gowda, Settibalija and Kuraba communities.
This is the first time that Naidu has inducted 17 new faces in the Cabinet. This is also the first Naidu cabinet without having his aide Yanamala Ramakrishnudu. The current makeup of the cabinet shows the stamp of Lokesh, who gave preference to the new faces and shunning many senior leaders.
Former vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, former Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Union ministers Amit Shah, J.P. Nadda, Nitin Gadkari, Ram Mohan Naidu, Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Chirag Paswan, Kishan Reddy, Ramdas Athawale, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and state BJP president D. Purandeswari were among the politicians who attended the swearing-in ceremony. Celebrities who attended the event include superstars Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, popular actor and TD MLA N. Balakrishna.
