Jagan Reddy takes oath as Andhra CM; KCR, Stalin present

Amaravati, May 30: YSR Congress Party president Jagan Mohan Reddy took oath as the second chief minister of Andhra Pradesh post its bifurcation. Jagan has first signed on the YSR pension scheme.

Reddy said the oldage pension will be increased to Rs. 2250 this year. "It will be increased to Rs. 2500 next year".

By August 15, four lakh jobs will be created by appointing Grama Volunteers in each village for door delivery of government schemes, he further added.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao and DMK president M K Stalin also attended the function.

Governor E S L Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy at 12.23 pm in a grand public function at the IGMC Stadium in nearby Vijayawada, to the 46-year-old leader who led his party to a resounding victory in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

The YSR Congress bagged 151 of the 175 seats in the state Assembly, decimating the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, who became the first chief minister of the state after it was bifurcated to carve out Telangana five years ago.

YSRC won 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats.

Reddy alone will take oath on Thursday while his Council of Ministers is likely to be constituted on June 7.

Ambassadors of various countries, representatives from unilateral and multi-lateral agencies, international donor agencies, industry associations, multinational corporations and international media have been invited to witness the event at the AP Bhavan, according to Resident Commissioner Praveen Prakash.

After taking oath, Reddy is expected to specially address the invited dignitaries through the video link and present his vision and mission for building a new Andhra Pradesh.

He is also likely to make some key announcements for the people of the state, mainly related to the YSRCs Navaratnalu, the nine major electoral promises, party sources said.

Chandrababu Naidu, who was invited by Reddy over phone, has decided to stay away. However, a three-member delegation of TDP MLAs, deputed by him, would meet Reddy and extend greetings ahead of the swearing-in, party sources said.