Hyderabad: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N Chandrababu Naidu was sworn in as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time on Wednesday, June 12.
Along with him, Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan and Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh took oath as ministers in the Naidu cabinet.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and other prominent leaders, including former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, former Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, and celebrities like Rajnikanth and K Chiranjeevi.
Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer administered the oath to Naidu and others.
The ceremony took place near Gannavaram Airport in Kesarapalli on the outskirts of Vijayawada.
Naidu turned emotional after taking the oath.
He hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after being sworn in by Governor S Abdul Nazeer in the presence of a galaxy of political leaders and celebrities at a ceremony attended by lakhs of people.
Amid loud cheers from the audience, the 74-year-old took the oath of office and secrecy in Telugu. The Prime Minister presented him with a bouquet to congratulate him. Naidu was visibly emotional as he hugged PM Modi and returned to his chair next to his wife Bhuvaneswari.
In 2021, Naidu walked out of the Assembly after his wife was allegedly insulted by some MLAs of the YSR Congress Party and vowed to return only after taking oath as the Chief Minister.
After taking oath as a minister, Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan went up to his elder brother megastar Chiranjeevi and touched his feet.
Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh was the next to take oath as the minister. Lokesh, the TDP general secretary, took the blessings of his father, Prime Minister Modi and the Governor.
A total of 24 ministers of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) took oath at the ceremony held at Kesarapalli IT Park near Gannavaram Airport.
Along with Chandrababu Naidu, K Atchannaidu (TDP), Nadendla Manohar (Janasena), P Narayana (TDP), Kollu Ravindra (TDP), Nimmala Rama Naidu (TDP) and Satya Kumar Yadav (BJP) took oath as ministers.
The Pawan Kalyan-led party has got three and BJP one berth in the cabinet.
As per the strength of the Andhra Pradesh assembly (175), the cabinet can have 26 ministers, including the CM.
In separate meetings on Tuesday, the Telugu Desam Legislature Party and NDA partners elected Naidu as their leader.
The NDA alliance, comprising TDP, Jana Sena, and BJP, won 164 out of the total 175 Assembly constituencies, with the TDP securing 135 seats, Jana Sena winning 21, and the BJP winning 8 seats. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) won 11 seats.
(With inputs from agencies)
