As expected, YSRCP president and Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy inducted only two ministers – Chelluboyina Venugopala Krishna and Seediri Appala Raju – into the cabinet, in a minor reshuffle on Wednesday.
Andhra Pradesh governor Biswabhushan Harichandan administered oath of office and secrecy to the two ministers at a simple and brief ceremony at Raj Bhavan premises in Vijayawada.
Apart from Jagan, assembly speaker Tammineni Sitaram, other cabinet ministers and a few public representatives attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Keeping in view the Covid-19 situation prevailing in Vijayawada, only a few invitees were permitted to attend the ceremony. Many others, including MLAs, came to Raj Bhavan, but could not get the entry because of the social distancing norms.
Seediri Appala Raju is a first time MLA from Palasa assembly constituency in Srikakulam district. A fisherman by birth and a doctor by profession, Appala Raju gained a lot of respect with his proactive measures during the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the district and caught the attention of the chief minister.
On the other hand, Chelluboyina has a political background in East Godavari district, though a businessman by profession. He had been in the Congress party for a long time and won as a ZPTC from Razole in 2001 and from Malikipuram in 2006. He was the East Godavari DCC president between 2008 and 2012.
He joined the YSR Congress party later and unsuccessfully contested from Kakinada rural in 2014. In 2019, however, the party fielded him from Ramachandrapuram and he won with huge majority.