Chandrababu Naidu takes oath as Andhra Chief Minister, PM, NDA allies present

Andhra Pradesh, Jun 12 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu took oath as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, marking his fourth term in the post. Jana Sena Party chief and ‘Power Star’ Pawan Kalyan was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister.

With his swearing-in as Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu scripted an impressive turnaround — only months ago, he was in jail after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering probe linked to an alleged skill development scam. After being released on bail, Naidu led his TDP to a thumping victory in the state assembly polls, in alliance with the BJP and Jana Sena.

Along with Pawan Kalyan, 23 others, including Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh, also took oath as ministers. The Jana Sena got three Cabinet berths, while Satya Kumar Yadav was the only BJP leader in the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet. In the 175-member assembly, the Cabinet can have 26 ministers, including the Chief Minister.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, superstar Rajinikanth, Pawan Kalyan’s elder brother and actor Chiranjeevi, former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and several other leaders were present at the oath-taking ceremony in Vijaywada.

The 2024 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections resulted in a landslide victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which snapped up 164 of the 175 seats. TDP alone won 135 seats, while Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena secured 21 seats, and the BJP won eight. The incumbent YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, managed only 11 seats.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Telugu Desam Legislature Party and NDA partners elected Naidu as their leader. Addressing the legislators, Naidu asserted that he is committed to developing Amaravati as the sole capital of the state.

-PTI