The retention of Deputy Chief Minister K. Narayanaswamy and induction of Nagari MLA R.K. Roja into the Cabinet as a first timer, came as a big surprise on Sunday evening.
The two leaders would share the Cabinet space with Chittoor district strongman Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, who alone was earlier projected as the possible leader to be inducted into the Cabinet from the district.
Interestingly, all the three leaders hail from the truncated Chittoor district, which now has seven Assembly constituencies, including the one represented by TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu (Kuppam).
Though the name of Ms. Roja has been doing the rounds for the last three years, the name of Mr. Narayanaswamy is not heard of ahead of the reshuffle.
That Mr. Ramachandra Reddy will not be dropped from the Cabinet is a foregone conclusion as the senior leaders calls the shots in the district.
The jubilant YSRCP workers gathered in front of the residences of the three leaders at Punganur, Nagari, and Puttur to celebrate the occasion.
While the YSRCP workers consider the presence of three Ministers from Chittoor as a harbinger of trouble for the opponents, a few others say it will ensure development of the backward district.
The party cadres openly agree that there is a cold war between Mr. Ramachandra Reddy and Ms. Roja, while Mr. Narayanaswamy is widely viewed as a neutral figure.
While Ms. Roja’s Assembly constituency falls in both Chittoor and the newly carved out Tirupati districts, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy’s constituency, Punganur, is close to the Karnataka border. Mr .Narayanaswamy represents the SC-dominant Gangadhara Nellore constituency that borders the district headquarters.
‘Balijas disappointed’
Meanwhile, the supporters of Chittoor MLA J. Srinivasulu from the dominant Balija community were a disappointed lot as he could not find place in the new Cabinet.
The development also came as a dampener to the people of the Annamayya district, where senior MLA Chintala Ramachandra Reddy (Piler) was not inducted into the Cabinet.
The presence of two from the Reddy community may disappoint the Balija and other BC communities, say a few party workers.
