Vijayawada. Vijayawada: With the swearing-in of the Union Council of Ministers on Sunday, expectations from Andhra Pradesh have increased as to how many posts it will get in the cabinet. It is likely that Andhra Pradesh will get five posts, in which TD will get three and Jana Sena and BJP will get one post each.
Since the BJP has secured 240 seats (including three from Andhra Pradesh) against the magic figure of 272 in the Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA has got 293 seats to form the government. Out of the total 293 seats of the NDA, 21 seats from Andhra Pradesh, 16 to TD, two to JS and three to BJP are playing an important role for the BJP to form the government.
Besides, Andhra Pradesh has a relatively higher share among all the NDA allies and for this reason Telugu Desam chief N. Chandrababu Naidu is being given prominence.
In this backdrop, Naidu seems to be seeking about five berths including three Cabinet and two Minister of State rank in the initial stage, subject to various considerations like political party, caste, region and other considerations.
Though names of some probables are doing the rounds on social media, it is TD chief Naidu who will take the final call to propose them to Modi for inclusion in the council of ministers.
Sources say that among the three elected MPs of the BJP, including Daggubati Purandeswari (Rajahmundry), C.M. Ramesh (Anakapalli) and Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma (Narsapuram), C.M. Ramesh could be a possibility, given his proximity to Naidu despite being a BJP member.
Political analysts say that since there is a family feud going on between Naidu and his co-brother-in-law Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, he may prefer C.M. Ramesh for the Cabinet berth.
Of the two Jana Sena MPs elected, Tangela Udaya Srinivas from Kakinada and V. Balashowry from Machilipatnam may get a chance given their past experience with YSRC and in case Jana Sena gets a chance.
Out of the 16 TD MPs elected, K. Ram Mohan Naidu from Srikakulam is the name doing the rounds as he has scored a hat-trick and may get a place in the cabinet, while other names from TD are being speculated to get a place in the cabinet based on various parameters.
All the elected MPs are camping in Delhi as they attended a meeting to extend their support to Modi to become the leader of the NDA. Also, since the swearing-in of the council of ministers is scheduled on Sunday, all the MPs elected from Andhra Pradesh are trying their luck in Delhi itself so that they can get a call from Modi confirming their place in the council of ministers.
Sources say intense negotiations are on among TD-JS-BJP leaders to finalise names for possible berths in the Union Council of Ministers, which will be officially announced by Modi on Sunday.
