AP Cabinet Reshuffle On April 2, Lokesh Certain To Find Berth

Hours after Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh as been sworn in as the MLC, the stage is set for Andhra Pradesh Cabinet reshuffle. Lokesh , in all certainly, will become a minister.

The cabinet reshuffle has been slated at 9.25 am on April 2 at Amaravati secretariat. Inside sources say that Lokesh would be given IT and Panchayat Raj. Interestingly, the two ministries in Telangana state were in the hands of Chief Minister KCR's son KTR. Now KTR has municipal affairs with him.

Political pundits also say that five ministers from the present cabinet could be dropped. The performance of Kimidi Mrunalini, Kollu Ravindra, Peetala Sujatha and Ravela Kishore Babu is widely believed to be below par. The performance of Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy, Palle Raghunatha Reddy and Siddha Raghava Rao is also not entirely satisfactory. At least one or two from among them could be dropped. As for Pulla Rao and Narayana, the chances of their being dropped appear remote as both are embroiled in scams and removing them might vindicate YSRCP’s stand. Pulla Rao is accused of buying AgriGold lands and P Narayana is blamed for SSC question paper leak.

The TDP is also setting the stage for the election of chairperson of chairperson of the legislative council. With incumbent Chakrapani's term ending on May 27, former minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy would be appointed in his post. Similarly, Reddy Subramanyam of East Godavari has already filed his papers for the deputy chairperson's post.

But, the big question being debated in the political circles is who will get the ministerial berths. The names of Kimidi Kala Venkata Rao, B Ravichandra Yadav, YSRCP turncoats Bhuma Akhila Priya, Amarnath Reddy of Chittoor are doing rounds.