Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is gearing up for a major Cabinet reshuffle, all 24 ministers of the current Andhra Pradesh Cabinet have submitted their resignations, news agency PTI reported. The ministers submitted their resignations to Jagan Mohan Reddy during a Cabinet meeting held on Thursday. Reddy had called on Governor Biswabhusan Harichandran at the Raj Bhawan on Wednesday evening in this regard. The new Cabinet is likely to take oath on April 11.The incumbent Ministers put-in their papers at the meeting of the Cabinet, which was their last, official sources said. They remained in their posts for exactly 34 months.
Last month, Jagan Reddy had announced that he would undertake the Cabinet reorganisation after Ugadi (Telugu New Year’s Day that fell on April 2) and after the formation of new districts. The new districts came into being on April 4 and now all eyes are on the cabinet restructuring. If Jagan chooses to retain the existing structure of the Council of Ministers, then it will again have five Deputy Chief Ministers -one each belonging to SC, ST, Muslim, Backward Caste and Kapu communities. Apart from the Reddy community, the main support group of the YSRC, Kapu is also expected to get the same preference in the fresh Cabinet as well, essentially to counter the opposition Jana Sena of film star Pawan Kalyan. The one community that would be left out again will be Brahmins, who will have to be content with the Assembly Deputy Speaker post. There are three women in the current Cabinet and the new one is also expected to have the same number.