Chandrababu Naidu takes oath as chief minister of India's Andhra Pradesh

Telugu Desham Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu took oath as the chief minister of south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday (June 12). Naidu is taking the top post for the fourth timeafter his party clinched a thumping victory in the state's assembly elections, held alongside the general elections.

Naidu was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor S Abdul Nazeer at a ceremony in Vijayawada, attended byPrime Minister Narendra Modi and several senior leaders of the National Democracy Alliance (NDA), of which TDP is a part.

In the assembly elections, TDP had won135 of 175 seats, while its NDA allies Jana Sena Party (JSP) clinched 21 and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won eight.

Naidu took oath at Gannavaram Mandal, Kesarapalli IT Park in Vijayawada, along with 25 ministers which included three leaders from JSP and one from BJP.

JSP chief Pawan Kalyan took oath as deputy chief minister. The son of Naidu, Nara Lokesh, was also part of the Cabinet.

Besides Modi, the oath-taking ceremony was attended byUnion Ministers Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Nitin Gadkari, Ramdas Athawale, Anupriya Patel and Chirag Paswan; Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, NCP leader Praful Patel and former vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu.

Along with the politicians, actor-politicians Nandamuri Balakrishna, Konidela Chiranjeevi and actor Rajinikanth also attended the ceremony.

After taking oath, Naidu gave a warm hug to Prime Minister Modi.

While speaking to newly-elected TDP MLAs, Naidu said he had sought the co-operation of the government in developing Andhra Pradesh.

BJP gets one seat in the Council of ministers

The council of ministers was earlier finalised after discussions between Naidu, Kalyan, and BJP national leaders Amit Shah and JP Nadda. It was decided that JSP’s Nadendla Manohar and Kandula Durgesh and BJP’s Y Satya Kumar will be included in the council.

The council of ministers has also included three women, two leaders from Scheduled Castes, eight from backward classes, one Muslim and a member of a Scheduled Tribe.

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Four Kapus and Kammas each, one Vysya and three Reddys are also part of the Naidu’s council of ministers.

Naidu, who is called as 'CEO Chief Minister' for promoting 'ease of doing business', has served as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for three terms.

Naidu's TDP has emerged as the key ally of the NDA government at the centre after the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

(With inputs from agencies)