Jagan decides to appoint 5 deputy CMs in Cabinet

Amaravati: In what could be an unprecedented move, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday decided to have five deputy chief ministers under him in a full 25-member Cabinet.

The five deputy chief ministers will represent five key communities which helped Mr Reddy wrest power in the state from the TDP government.

Accordingly, one leader each from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, backward, minority and Kapu communities would be made a deputy chief minister. Mr Reddy’s decision to have five deputies is seen as a revolutionary step aimed at keeping all the five communities in good humour.

The new council of ministers will take oath at a public function here Saturday.

The chief minister held a meeting of the YSR Congress Legislature Party at his residence here in the morning where he announced the decision to appoint five deputy chief ministers.

He also told his legislators that the Cabinet would predominantly comprise members from the weaker sections, contrary to expectations that the Reddy community would get a lion’s share.

He said the Cabinet would be reconstituted two and a half years later after a mid-term review of the government’s performance.

In the previous N. Chandrababu Naidu government, one legislator each from the Kapu and backward class communities was made deputy chief minister.