Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that his Council of Ministers represented experience as well as youthful energy and talent.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh expanded his week-old Government by inducting 59 more ministers, who took oath of office and secrecy at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Talking to mediapersons after the new Ministers were sworn-in at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Prime Minister said his government’s strategy would be economic growth with fiscal prudence.

Dr. Singh, however, refused to elaborate on it, saying that the strategy would be revealed in the President’s Address to the Joint Session of Parliament and in the Budget speech of the Finance Minister.

To a query about the reasons behind the delay in formation of full Council of Ministers, Dr. Singh said that a lot of consultations were to be held before finalising the names, as he wanted to have a thorough examination of the available talent and experience so that the Ministry represented youthful energy and experience.

The portfolios of the Union Council of Ministers have been announced. Hereunder is the complete list of Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and MoS with Independent Charge and their respective portfolios:

Click Here for More 14 Cabinet Ministers, 7 MoS (Independent) and 38 MoS sworn-in

At least five ministers from the old team may not make it to the Cabinet this time. The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, has indicated that he would leave out some “non-performers” in his new team.

The State Cabinet will be constituted on May 25, with 26 to 30 ministers. The Chief Minister will submit his list of ministers to the Congress high command on Friday. It will be finalised based on the the Central Cabinet combination. “The Chief Minister has been given a free hand to form his team, but he will finalise it after the Central Cabinet formation is completed,” the sources said.

Dr Reddy left for New Delhi on Thursday to participate in discussions on the Cabinet formation. The names of Mr D. Sridhar, Mr V. Vasanth-kumar, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Mr N. Manohar, Mr K. Venkata Reddy, Mr Perni Nani, Mr B. Srinivasa Reddy, Mr Rambhupal Reddy, Mr Sailajanath, Mr Mallu Bhattivikramarka, Mr G. Ravikumar and Mr D. Nagender figure in the “youth” quota.

The name of Dr Geeta Reddy, an outgoing minister, is up for consideration for the post of the Speaker. It appears that senior leaders like Mr D. Prasada Rao, Mr.Mukesh Goud,Mr P. Lakshmaiah, Mr K. Jana Reddy, Mr S. Vijaya-ramaraju, Mr Botsa Satya-narayana, Mr P Subhash Chandra Bose, Mr Kanna Laxminarayana will be reinducted.

Also appearing in this list are the names of Mr Gade Venkata Reddy, Mr Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, Mr J.C. Diwakar Reddy, Mr N. Raghuveera Reddy, Mrs Sabita Indra Reddy, Mr Kasu Krishna Reddy will be re-inducted.

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, has set his eyes on two crucial portfolios: Petroleum and natural gas and water resources. As Dr Reddy sees it, the state has contributed the largest nu-mber of MPs to the Congress and should be rewarded.

Dr Reddy wants MPs from the state to handle the two portfolios. ONGC and Gail had troubled the state government over the last five years and stranded gas-based power projects, forcing the government to impose supply cuts.

Control over the water resources ministry would give Dr Reddy freedom to continue his Jalayaganam programme, to secure permission for projects and funds for Polavaram, Pra-nahita-Chevella, Ellam-palli, Dummugudem and Nagarjunasagar modernisation.

Dr Reddy is to meet the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and press for the two ministries.

Dr Reddy has been lobbying for the minister of state seat in the railway ministry to make up for the “negligence” meted out to the state.

Dr Reddy has hinted this to the senior leader, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, who sources said has assured the Chief Minister of his support. Dr Reddy is also keen on the MoS posts in the surface transport, rural development, shipping and coal ministries.

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Thursday said he would expand his cabinet May 25 but ruled out appointing a deputy chief minister.

YSR, who took oath as the chief minister for the second consecutive term Wednesday evening, said he would induct ministers in his cabinet May 25 and promised to give proper representation to all regions.

He was speaking at a meet-the-press programme organised by Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists.

He ruled out appointing a deputy chief minister as suggested by a section of party leaders from Telangana before the elections.

YSR, who led the party to a comfortable majority of 156 seats in the 294-member assembly and bagged 33 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, also ruled out a role for himself in national politics. “My rule is limited to the state,” he said.

To another query about the central cabinet, the chief minister said Congress was not a regional party to demand its pound of flesh. “If need be, we will have to make certain adjustments,” he said to a query if he was keen to get some key portfolios for the state in the central cabinet.

YSR evaded a direct reply when a reporter asked him if the verdict was against bifurcation of the state. “The party which has come up in the name of Telangana (Telangana Rashtra Samiti) had not fared well in these elections. There is a leadership crisis in that party,” he said.

He said Telangana sentiment was there in some areas of the region and hinted that the issue of separate state was created by TRS leader K. Chandrasekhara Rao. “If Chandrasekhara Rao was accommodated in the Chandrababu Naidu cabinet in 1999, he would not have formed the TRS,” he remarked.

Claiming that Congress was not against carving out a separate Telangana, he said the party was for addressing the issues likely to arise by the creation of separate state.

Stating that welfare and development were the two focus areas of his government, the chief minister said it would continue the programmes taken up during last five years more efficiently.

“We won this election because of our credibility and courage. We never hesitated in spending money to meet people’s needs. We made no new promises but said we will continue what we were doing for last five years. People trusted us and not the opposition which made deceptive promises,” he said.

“Chandrababu Naidu, during his nine-year rule, had said that there are no free lunches. He opposed free electricity to agriculture and collected user charges in hospitals. But in this election he promised all for free,” added YSR.

When Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy became the first Chief Minister in the State to be sworn in for a second consecutive term after serving a full five-year tenure on Wednesday, it was the 22nd swearing-in ceremony of Chief Ministers since the formation of the State.

Dr. Reddy is the 14th Chief Minister of the State, while Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the first who served from January 11, 1956, to January 10, 1960. The others who were at the helm of the State were Damodaram Sanjeevaiah, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, P.V.Narasimha Rao, Jalagam Vengal Rao, Marri Channa Reddy, T.Anjaiah, Bhavanam Venkatram, Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy, N. T. Rama Rao, N. Janardhana Reddy and N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Longest first term

While Dr. Reddy completed five years and five days in the first term (the longest first term) and commenced his second term from Wednesday, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy too was the Chief Minister for two consecutive terms from 1964 to 1967 and again from 1967 to 1971.

Though Mr. Naidu led the Telugu Desam government for two terms consecutively, his first term lasted four years and the second four-and-a-half years. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Channa Reddy, Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy were the other Congress Chief Ministers who served two terms but not consecutively.

A trained doctor, Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy or YSR as he is popularly known, has learnt to feel the public pulse as he takes over Wednesday as Andhra Pradesh chief minister for the second successive term and sets new records.

He came up the hard way in his public life spanning three decades and emerged as one of the strongest leaders the Congress has produced in the state.

The 60-year-old broke the jinx by becoming the first Congress chief minister to retain power since legendary N.T. Rama Rao launched the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the 1980s.

Last week, he had become the first chief minister in the state’s history to complete a full five-year term.

He has always been a winner. Elected to the state assembly for the fifth time, YSR is also a four-time Lok Sabha member and holds the record of never losing an election.

Without promises of free TV sets and cash doles and without banking on filmstars’ glamour, he proved why he is more popular among masses.

Popular as ‘people’s leader’ among his followers, YSR tasted success despite facing a hostile poll campaign from both the TDP-led four party Grand Alliance and Praja Rajyam party of actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi.

YSR also emerged as one of the few leaders in the country to retain power beating the anti-incumbency factor. What has made his performance more creditable is the fact that he made no big promises and instead highlighted his performance versus the “poor credibility record” of his main rival N. Chandrababu Naidu of TDP.

Banking on his performance and the numerous welfare schemes his government launched during the last five years, YSR retained power despite a three-cornered contest.

The man who ran the Congress campaign on his shoulders emerged victorious in the face of hectic electioneering by top stars of the tinsel world in favour of TDP and Praja Rajyam.

When he took over as chief minister for the first time on May 14, 2004, it was a dream came true for YSR. The leader from the bad lands of Rayalaseema had come up the hard way, after narrowly missing power in 1999.

Born in a middle-class family at Pulivendula, a small town in Kadapa district, on July 8, 1949, YSR made a modest beginning. Eldest of the five sons of Y.S. Raja Reddy, a dynamic local leader in his heydays, he evinced interests in politics while studying at M.R. Medical College, Gulbarga in Karnataka.

After completing his MBBS, YSR served as medical officer at the Jammalamadugu Mission Hospital for a brief period. In 1973, he established a 70-bed charitable hospital.

He entered active politics in 1978 and was elected to the state assembly from Pulivendula. He served as state minister from 1980 to 1983 and retained the assembly seat in 1983 even when NTR swept to power with a historic victory.

Sensing a potential leader in him, then prime minister Indira Gandhi appointed YSR president of the state unit of Congress when he was only 34. In 1989, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa and held the seat till 1999, when he shifted again to state politics. From 1998 to 2000, he again served as president of the state Congress.

Though the party lost the 1999 state elections, YSR emerged as the strongest leader of the party and became the leader of opposition.

The year 2003 was a turning point in his political career, as he undertook a 64-day padyatra, or walkathon, across the state. Covering 1,500 km under the scorching sun, he received petitions from people about their problems, mainly relating to agriculture and unemployment.

It was this campaign and a strong anti-incumbency wave against Chandrababu Naidu’s government which catapulted YSR to power.

His experiences during the padyatra helped him shape his policies after assuming office as he gave free electricity to farmers, waived their loans, introduced several welfare schemes like pension for the aged, widows and handicapped, housing for poor, Rs.2-a-kg rice, Rajiv Arogyasri or community health insurance scheme and a massive programme to build irrigation projects.

Thanks to these initiatives, the Congress has won 156 of Andhra Pradesh’s 294 seats and bagged 33 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats this time.

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The recent election has been one gripping event for the Telugu folks and surprisingly, there was a huge betting that took place this time and that too at exorbitant rates. Due to this, news has been arriving that many have now become beggars having lost a lot of money. The worst hit among this are the middle class people who have now landed on roads. It is heard that just in the west Godavari district, the betting was upto the tune of Rs 300 crores. While some have taken loans, others have sold their fertile lands and put their money into various forms of betting.

The hottest districts for betting were the dual Godavari, Krishna, Guntur districts and the stakes were like a particular party will win so many seats or a particular candidate will win at a particular place. Incidentally, the palakollu segment where Chiranjeevi contested had betting going up to the tune of Rs 18 crores. Similarly, in the Ungutur segment of west Godavari, the stake was Rs 30 crores. The highlight is, one of the candidates in the Godavari districts was so confident about his win that he betted upto Rs 18 crores, he lost and now he has put his home for sale. And there is another one who has pledged his 25 acre land and now he has nothing left with him. Even the Vijayawada Lok Sabha had a similar situation with many saying Lagadapati will lose and betting heavily on that. Many from the coastal belt have lost out heavily and now the fear of suicides has been looming largely out there.

Even Hyderabad was not far behind as some high stake betting happened here too and that too by the Congress folks. One MLA was heard saying that he spent 3 crores for canvassing and earned 3 crores in betting. And there is another one leader from the Congress who earned a cool Rs 5 crores due to the betting. But then, a word of advise to all those middle class people who wanted to make money, such things are only for those who can afford it, don’t do betting else you will end up as beggars.

Except a few poll predictions, everyone has written off Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy coming back to power.

YSR took a great risk by campaigning alone on the plank of development and welfare to all and he even claimed that he will alone be responsible either for the win or defeat of Congress party in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

As the rummy playing card game players know he took the highest risk of an AC-DC game… and won. He got 155 seats in the AP Assembly and a phenomenal 33 Lok Sabha seats. A fabulous and incredible victory indeed!

Most political analysts feel that there are exactly 10 Reasons for YSR’s Second Season :

1. The 26 odd people friendly welfare schemes, in spite of lower level administrative apathy and inefficiency and corruption at certain places, have reached at least 80% of the population.

2. The blatant corruption charges made against YSR by the combined opposition political parties did not stick. Corruption is not at all an issue in India; particularly the state of Andhra Pradesh, where even to get a legitimate ration card or a liquor bottle, one has to pay extra…some thing like a tip…nothing more, nothing less.

3. The two new political parties in AP, viz, Lok Satta and Praja Rajyam have cut into the vote bank of TDP, TRS, CPI and CPM. PRP got a vote share of 16 point something and LSP got a few points more than the one point odd of Left parties.

4. Nara Chandrababu Naidu lost his credibility along with KCR of TRS with his volte face on the issue of separate Telangana.

5. Naidu by promising “everything free” appeared to be bent upun usurping power at any cost.

6. If TRS really wanted a separate Telangana, KCR would have contested all the 119 Assembly seats in Telangana alone on his party mandate. It was not to be. By joining Mahakootami (Grand Alliance) he has buried the issue of separate statehood to Telangana for ever. He has obviously lost credibility with even the hard core separatists.

7. So is the case of loss of credibility with TDP, CPi and CPM as they joined into the so-called 3rd Front.

8. Naidu further lost his image of being a 9-year efficient CM by crawling and kissing the feet of Nandamuri Balakrishna and even the fledgling Tollywood hero NTR Jr. Trying to join your former antagonists is a sure sign of weakness and drop in the self confidence level of a politician.

9. The 1 crore 47 lakh new voters registered in AP ( largely in the age group of 18 years to 25…urban & rural) seem to have more faith in Dr Manmohan Singh and Lok Satta + PRP than the free-wheeler-dealer otherwise known as Nara Chandrababu Naidu. YSR got the advantage by default because of the negative swing of the vote bank of the opposition parties.

10. Irrespective of caste, class, creed, urban or rural, gender, age or professional or unemployed, educated or otherwise, all those who went to the hustling to exercise their franchise wanted a United, Strong and Stable India.

The result of the greatest and largest democratic exercise is now right before the world for everyone to see and appreciate.

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The Congress elected Manmohan Singh as leader of its parliamentary party on Tuesday, a formal stamp for Singh take charge as prime minister for a second consecutive term.

The Congress parliamentary party also elected Sonia Gandhi as its chairperson.

The formalities set rolling the process of government formation, a day after Singh resigned as prime minister on Monday.

The Cabinet met for the last time on Monday and recommended that the President dissolve the 14th Lok Sabha. According to a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique, the President accepted the recommendation and signed an order dissolving the Lok Sabha in exercise of the powers conferred upon her by sub-clause (b) of clause (2) Article 85 of the Constitution.

Later, Singh met President Pratibha Patil to tender his resignation while, in keeping with the transition drill, he was asked to continue till an alternative arrangement (read his being invited to form the government again) was made.

At the same time, Election Commission handed over the list of newly-elected Lok Sabha MPs to the President, clearing the way for constitution of the new House. With this, the drill is almost complete for Singh to stake claim.

While there is no dispute that Congress is the only claimant to forming the government, sources said the President would have to go through the motion of Singh staking claim. It comes in the light of the convention that Congress could not be automatically invited by the President as it did not have the desired 273 MPs.

The day of hectic activities would be accompanied by a meeting of CLP leaders and PCC chiefs with party chief Sonia Gandhi and the PM. It is being seen as a continuation of the exercise to tone up party organisation in states.

With strong performances in a clutch of states, including those where the Congress is either dependent on allies or which have rival governments, there is an eagerness to tap the positive mood.

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Soon after the results are announced on Saturday, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, called the Chief Minister, Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, over phone and congratulated him over the 157 seats ‘tremendous’ performance of the party in the polls.

“It is your personal victory. The Congress has gained the needed majority on its own to form the government in the State and the credit is yours,” Ms Gandhi is stated to have told the Chief Minister. She also expressed happiness over the party’s contribution of 33 seats to the Lok Sabha from the State.

She is understood to have particularly referred to Dr Reddy’s victory in the polls despite the defeat of heavy weights like the PCC chief, Mr D Srinivas, the Speaker, Mr K R Suresh Reddy, and some senior ministers.

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