While the mood is exuberant in the newly-carved district of Anakapalli, it is sombre in Visakhapatnam and Alluri Sitharamaraju districts, after the Cabinet reshuffle.
Both Anakapalli and ASR were carved out from the Visakhapatnam district, and there is feeling among the YSR Congress partymen that the district has been neglected in the reshuffle.
The only Minister, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, who headed the tourism ministry from Visakhapatnam, was told to resign and the aspirant Tippala Nagi Reddy from Gajuwaka was not given any ministry. It may be remembered that it was Nagi Reddy who defeated JSP founder Pawan Kalyan in 2019 elections.
In the carved out Visakhapatnam, YSR Congress has got just two MLAs, Muttamsetti from Bheemunipatnam and Nagi Reddy from Gajuwaka. The other four belong to TDP.
From Anakapalli, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has chosen Gudivada Amarnath and Budi Mutyala Naidu, and have allotted Industry and IT to Amarnath and Roads and Buildings to Mutyala Naidu.
This has caused some heartburn among the YSRCP cadres in Visakhapatnam, as two have been selected from Anakapalli. But party sources say that Amarnath who is young with a political lineage has been chosen for his hard work and Mutyala Naidu for being a loyalist since the days of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the father of Mr. Jagan.
Many are upset for not selecting a Minster from the ASR district. Primarily, a tribal district with the presence of the banned CPI (Maoist). Many in the party say that at least one of the MLAs could have been chosen and placed in the new Cabinet.
This is now the biggest district in the State, grossly under-developed and is Maoist-affected, having a Minister would have benefited the district, said party sources.
While heartburn is common, senior leaders in the party say that this reshuffle is in the cards, as the CM during the formation of the government in 2019 had clearly stated that the tenure of the first Cabinet will be for half the term. Moreover, one should understand that everyone cannot be accommodated in the Cabinet and all MLAs have their roles cut out, they said.
