The NDA government in Andhra Pradesh, headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is coming under scrutiny for encouraging family politics.
The induction of Konidela Nagababu, the elder brother of actor-turned-politician and deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, into the state cabinet, has evoked criticism from within the ruling alliance.
Nagababu is neither an MLA nor an MLC. He needs to get elected to one of the houses within six months of taking charge as minister. He is currently the general secretary of the Jana Sena Party founded by his brother Pawan Kalyan in 2014.
The surprise announcement of his induction was made by the Telugu Desam Party supremo and chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on Monday night in Vijayawada.
It was greeted with anger and a sense of cynicism from the TDP supporters who took to social media platforms to vent out their hurt feelings. “Is this the reward that the dedicated and loyal party workers get?
There are countless number of leaders who have been working for decades for the party but they are being ignored and rank outsiders are walking away with positions of power,” a TDP loyalist said on microblogging platform X.
Already, the chief minister’s son Nara Lokesh is a minister, holding the portfolios of Information Technology and Human Resources Development. Lokesh’s elevation came as no surprise because he had served in his father’s cabinet in the previous term and has been playing a key role in the party for nearly a decade now. The reward for Nagababu, also an actor, came as a shocker to many in the ruling camp.
Andhra Pradesh has a provision for 25 ministerial positions based on its assembly seats. However, the current cabinet has 24 members.
“After he becomes the cabinet minister, Nagababu has to be either elected to the state assembly from any vacancy that might arise or nominated to the state legislative council within six months,” a TDP leader said.
At present, only Pawan Kalyan, Kandula Durgesh, and Nadendla Manohar represent the Jana Sena Party in the state cabinet. As part of the coalition agreement, Jana Sena is entitled to four ministerial positions, and BJP is allotted one.
Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu also announced the names of former MP Beeda Mastan Rao and industrialist Sana Satish Babu for two out of three Rajya Sabha seats, by-elections for which are scheduled on December 20.
The third vacant Rajya Sabha seat was allotted to the BJP, which announced the candidacy of former MP and prominent OBC leader R Krishnaiah.
Mastan Rao, who resigned from his Rajya Sabha membership following his defection from the YSRCP to the TDP, has been retained for the same seat.
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