It has been exactly a week since YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reconstituted his council of ministers and allotted them portfolios.
Many of them have taken charge of their allotted ministries and entered into their chambers to start their official duties. Some others are also going round the temples, before assuming the charge at the right muhurtham.
Surprisingly, senior minister Botsa Satyanarayana, who was retained from the previous cabinet and allotted the most important portfolio of Education, is nowhere to be seen. Nobody knows where he is travelling and why he is delaying in taking over the ministry.
According to sources, Botsa has been bringing pressure on Jagan to change his portfolio. He is not interested in the education portfolio, as he feels he won’t be able to do justice to the same.
He did not even attend the review meeting conducted by Jagan on the education department a couple of days ago.
It is learnt Botsa has asked Jagan to retain the municipal administration and urban development portfolio, which he had held in the past.
In the reshuffled cabinet, it was allotted to Adimulapu Suresh, who had held education portfolio in the previous cabinet. Suresh has already assumed charge as municipal administration minister.
Sources said Jagan is not willing to reshuffle the portfolios again for the simple reason that nobody should question his authority to allot portfolios.
Secondly, if portfolio of one minister is changed, then there might be pressure from others for the change of their portfolios as well; while others might not be interested in giving up their portfolios for the sake of others.
This will ultimately send a wrong message into the people that the chief minister is changing the portfolios succumbing to the pressure from seniors.
“That is why Jagan is not interested in changing the portfolios. In any case, it hardly matters for the ministers, as they are not the real decision makers in any of their departments; and it is Jagan who decides everything,” sources said.
It will be interesting to see whether Botsa will finally accept the portfolio allotted to him or give up the ministry completely.