Amaravati: ‘Expect surprises, never go down the beaten track’ seems to be the mantra of the Andhra Pradesh new Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. After making everyone’s heads turn with his decision to have five deputy chief ministers, YS Jagan’s new cabinet and portfolio allocation did make some YSRCP leaders surprisingly happy, while others had to take it with pinch of salt.

The allocation of Home Ministry to Mekathoti Sucharitha is a big surprise, while the names of senior leaders like Pilli Subash Chandra Bose and Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy did rounds. The not-so familiar face even in the YSRCP circles, Sucharitha is certainly set to create a history. Political analysts say the decision to have a woman as a Home Minister is to show that YS Jagan’s governance and administration would be much like his father’s, Dr YS Rajasekahara Reddy. Recall when Sabita Indira Reddy was made home minister she was similarly an underdog for the post which is dubbed as number-two in the government.

This decision of YS Jagan has a lot of symbolic value to convey that he will very much emulate YSR, which he calls the coming of ‘Rajanna Rajyam’. As regards Sucharitha, she is from the Dalit community and elected as an MLA from Prathipadu constituency in Krishna district.

Of all, the allocation of Finance portfolio to Bugguna Rajendranath is on expected lines. The Dhone MLA’s name has been doing rounds ever since YSRCP stormed into power. His experience of working as the chairman of Public Accounts Committee in the Assembly during the TDP government appears to have worked in his favour. With Rajendranath in the Finance Ministry, the message seems to be clear from the Chief Minister that he is pinning a great deal of hope on him to revive the moribund and cash-strapped economy of the State.

Seniority, loyalty, and caste composition seems to have worked in favour of Pelli Subhash Chandra Bose and Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy who have been allocated Revenue and Panchayat Raj and Rural Development respectively. Former civil servant Audimalapu Suresh has been allocated Education Ministry, and he comes from a family of educationists. In all, YS Jagan’s cabinet has left quite many surprises and also marked many firsts.

Here’s the full list of AP State Cabinet and portfolios