Jagan to have five deputy CMs in Cabinet

In what could be an unprecedented move, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy Friday decided to have five deputy chief ministers under him in a full 25-member Cabinet.

The new Council of Ministers will be constituted at a public function here Saturday.

The Chief Minister held a meeting of the YSR Congress Legislature Party at his residence here in the morning where he announced the decision to appoint five deputy chief ministers.

Accordingly, one each from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, backward, minority and Kapu communities would be made a deputy chief minister.

He also told his legislators that the Cabinet would predominantly comprise members from the weaker sections, contrary to expectations that the Reddy community would get a lion's share.

He said the Cabinet would be reconstituted two and a half years later after a mid-term review of the government's performance.

In the previous N Chandrababu Naidu government, one each from, Kapu and BC communities was made deputy chief minister.

Jagan's decision to have five deputies is seen as a revolutionary step that is aimed at keeping those communities in good humour.