Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu took the oath of office as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union Ministers, including Amit Shah, J.P. Nadda, and Nitin Gadkari.
This marks Naidu’s fourth term as chief minister, and his second since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. He previously served as chief minister from 1995 to 2004 and again from 2014 to 2019.
The oath of office was administered by Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer. Former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan, Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, Union Minister Rammohan Naidu, and actors Chiranjeevi, Rajnikanth, and Nandamuri Balakrishna were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.
Naidu led the TDP-BJP-Janasena National Democratic Alliance to a landslide victory in both the assembly and parliamentary elections in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP holds a majority in the state’s 175-member assembly, with 135 MLAs, while its allies, the Janasena Party, has 21 MLAs, and the BJP has eight. The opposition YSR Congress Party has 11 legislators.
According to a list released by the TDP, the Cabinet will consist of 21 MLAs from the TDP, three from the Janasena Party, and one from the BJP.
(With inputs from ANI)