All 24 mantris of AP Cabinet resign, some to reatin berths

VIJAYAWADA: All 24 ministers of the AP Cabinet submitted their resignation letters on Thursday to pave the way for Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to reshuffle his team, as part of a plan that was drawn up during the 2019 elections.

According to informed sources, the swearing-in of the 26 new ministers will be held at 11.31 am on April 11. The names of the new ministers would be announced on April 10.

The CM had intimated the Council of Ministers about the reshuffle and had asked them to submit their resignations before the Cabinet meeting. He had hinted at assigning party responsibilities to the outgoing ministers.

The CM said all the outgoing ministers had performed well. “Some of you will continue as ministers and the respect for you will not diminish in future too. Those who work hard for the party would come back as ministers,” he said.

The resignation letters would be sent to Raj Bhavan through a special messenger for Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan to accept. The CM will prepare a list of new ministers and send this to the Governor for approval.

Outgoing minister for information and public relations Perni Venkatramaiah, “The CM desires to strengthen party machinery by assigning key responsibilities to seniors, who would use their experience and prepare the party for the 2024 elections.”

Outgoing civil supplies minister Kodali Venkateswara said that except for five or six ministers, all the others would be new faces. He said, "I will serve the party as a loyal soldier of Jagan, irrespective of whether I am a minister or not."

Another outgoing minister Botsa Satyanarayana said the new Cabinet would be based on social equations. He affirmed that they would effectively handle any responsibility assigned by the CM and work arduously to bring back YSRC into power in the 2024 elections.