17 new faces in Chandrababu Naidu’s team

Vijayawada, June 12: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu’s 24-member ministerial team, which was sworn-in along with him on Wednesday, has 17 fresh faces as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief has given preference to young leaders. 

The remaining seven had served as ministers either in Chandrababu Naidu’s Cabinet in bifurcated Andhra Pradesh or in the united one.

All the three ministers from Jana Sena and the lone minister from BJP have been inducted in the Cabinet for the first time.

Majority of the 20 ministers from TDP are young leaders with some of them elected to the Assembly for the first time.

In all, nine of the ministers in Naidu’s Cabinet were elected to the Assembly for the first time.

The most prominent fresh face is Jana Sena leader and actor Pawan Kalyan, who is set to be appointed Deputy Chief Minister.

The 56-year-old has been elected to the Assembly for the first time.

Pawan Kalyan, who studied till Intermediate, made his electoral debut from Pithapuram constituency in Kakinada District.

The younger brother of megastar Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan is among three ministers from Jana Sena in Naidu’s government.

Jana Sena won all 21 Assembly seats it contested.

Pawan Kalyan’s close aide and Jana Sena’s Political Affairs Committee Chairman N Manohar has also been inducted into the Cabinet.

The 60-year-old has become a minister for the first time. Son of former chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh Nadendla Bhaskar, he served as Assembly Speaker in united Andhra Pradesh from 2011 to 2014.

Manohar, who did MBA from Osmania University, was elected from Tenali constituency in Guntur District. A three-time MLA, he quit the Congress to join Jana Sena in 2018.

Interestingly, Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh, who was part of the earlier TDP Cabinet, is also a first-time MLA.

Lokesh, K. Atchannaidu, Kollu Ravindra, P. Narayana and N Md Farooq were all ministers in the TDP government between 2014 and 2019.

Kolusu Parthasarathy and Anam Ramanarayana Reddy had served as ministers in Congress governments in a united Andhra Pradesh.

Farooq had also served as minister in the TDP government in an undivided state.

Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, who hails from Nellore District, had quit YSR Congress Party to join TDP last year.

A senior minister in the Congress governments between 2004 and 2014, he was upset over his non-inclusion in the Cabinet by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The 72-year-old was elected from Atamkur constituency in the recent polls.

He was first elected to the Assembly in 1983 as a TDP candidate. He had switched loyalties to the Congress in 1991.

Kolusu Parthasarathy had quit YSRCP to join TDP early this year and Naidu had promised him a Cabinet berth.

The senior leader, who comes from undivided Krishna District, had served as a minister in the Congress government in united Andhra Pradesh.

After the state’s bifurcation in 2014, he joined YSRCP.

Lokesh, who is TDP General Secretary, is also a first time MLA. In 2017, he was elected to the Legislative Council and served as minister for information technology and rural development in the Cabinet headed by his father.

The 41-year-old, who has done MBA from Stanford University, was elected from Mangalagiri constituency in Guntur District. He had lost from the same constituency in 2019.

Atchannaidu, who retained Tekali seat in Srikakulam District, has once again found a place in Naidu’s Cabinet. The six-time MLA is currently the President of the TDP’s Andhra Pradesh unit.

The 54-year-old, who is a graduate, served as minister of handlooms, textiles, Backward Classes welfare, empowerment and information & public relations in the TDP government between 2017 and 2019. He is the younger brother of former Union minister late K Yerran Naidu and uncle of K. Ram Mohan Naidu, who was inducted as a minister in the PM Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet on Sunday.

Kollu Ravindra has also become a minister once again. He had served as minister for excise and BC welfare between 2014 and 2019.

The 51-year-old has studied BA, LLB. Elected from Machilipatnam constituency in Krishna District, Ravindra is a member of the TDP politburo, the highest decision-making body of the party.

Ponguru Narayana, founder of Narayana Group of Institutions, is one of the highly educated ministers. The 68-year-old had served as minister for municipal administration and urban development between 2014 and 2019. Naryana, who has done MSc and PhD, was elected from Nellore City constituency in Nellore District in the recent elections.

N. Md Farooq is the lone Muslim minister in the Cabinet. The 74-year-old was re-elected from Nandyal constituency in Nandyal District.

Farooq, who has studied up to PUC, served as a minister in Naidu’s Cabinets both in undivided Andhra Pradesh and in the bifurcated state.

A four-time MLA, he had also served as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly in united Andhra Pradesh.

Vasamsetti Subhash is among the first-time MLAs who have become ministers.

Belonging to the Settibalija (BC) community, he was elected from Ramachandrapuram constituency in Ambedkar Konaseema District.

He has studied B.Sc, LLB and he had resigned from the YSRCP to join the TDP a few months before elections.

Vangalapudi Anitha is one of the three women ministers in the new Cabinet. Elected from Payakaraopeta constituency in Visakhapatnam District, the 45-year-old is a first-time minister.

A member of the TDP politburo, she has done Masters in arts and literature.

Nimmala Rama Naidu is also a new face in the Cabinet. In the recent elections, he was elected for a third time from Palakonda in West Godavari District. The 55-year-old has done MA, M. Phil and PhD.

Payyavula Kesav is one of the key TDP leaders, who has been finally rewarded with a Cabinet berth. He had entered politics in 1994 and was recently elected to the Assembly from Uravakonda in Anantapur District for the seventh time.

He had retained the seat even in 2019 when there was a YSRCP wave.

At 42, Kondapalli Srinivas is one of the youngest ministers in the new Cabinet. He is the first-time MLA from Gajapathinagaram constituency in Vizianagaram District. Hailing from a political family, Srinivas is a software engineer who had been actively participating in social service.

Gummadi Sandhyarani is another first-time minister. She is also the first-time MLA, having been elected from Saluru constituency in Parvathipuram Manyam District. The 51-year-old has studied B.Sc. In 1999, she had unsuccessfully contested for the Assembly on a Congress ticket. She later joined the TDP but could not win the elections in 2009 and 2014.

Anagani Satya Prasad is a three-time MLA from Repalle in Bapatla District. The 52-year-old is a graduate.

Dola Balaveeranjaneya Swamy has been elected to the Assembly for a third-consecutive term from Kondapi in Prakasam District. The 54-year-old is a MBBS and worked at a primary health centre in Kondapi.

Gottipati Ravi Kumar was recently elected for the Assembly for the fourth-consecutive time from Addanki in Bapatla District. The 48-year-old has done engineering and is in the granite business. In 2009, he was first elected to the Assembly on a Congress ticket. He retained the seat as YSRCP candidate in 2014 but joined the TDP in 2016. He won the seat again in 2019 and 2024 on a TDP ticket.

Kandula Durgesh of Jana Sena is also a first-time MLA who has made it to the Cabinet. He began his political career with the Congress party and was defeated in 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Rajahmundry constituency. He joined Jana Sena in 2018. He contested unsuccessfully as Jana Sena candidate from Nidadavole in West Godavari District.

The TDP’s BC Janardhan Reddy was elected to Banaganapalli constituency in Nandyal District for a second time. The 55-year-old has studied up to eighth standard.

Satya Kumar Yadav is the only BJP representative in the Cabinet. He is a first-time MLA, having been elected from Dharmavaram constituency in Sri Sathya Sai District in the recent elections. He has done MA in political science. He served as Personal Secretary of former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. In 2018, he was appointed National Secretary of the BJP. He is currently co-incharge of BJP in Uttar Pradesh and incharge for Andaman and Nicobar.

TG Bharath, who has done MBA in UK, is a first-time MLA. The 48-year-old was elected from Kurnool constituency. He is the son of former minister TG Venkatesh.

S Savitha was elected to the Assembly for the first time in recent elections from Penukonda in Sri Sathya Sai District. She is the daughter of former MP and minister S. Ramachandra Reddy.

Mandipalli Ram Prasad Reddy is one of the youngest ministers in the new Cabinet. The 43-year-old is a first-time MLA from Rayachoti in Annamayya District. He had quit YSRCP to join TDP in December 2023.