Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has appointed his close aide and Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy as special representative of the state government in New Delhi.
According to an order issued by Chief Secretary L V Subrahmanyam on Saturday, Vijayasai Reddy is appointed with immediate effect. He has been assigned the rank of a cabinet minister and will enjoy the benefits that accompany the posting.
He will succeed Telugu Desam Party (TDP) nominee K. Rammohan Rao, who resigned from the post after YSRCP stormed to power.
Earlier this month, Jagan appointed Vijayasai Reddy as the leader of YSRCP parliamentary party. Vijayasai Reddy, who was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2016, is also the general secretary of the party.
A chartered accountant by profession, he has been associated with the party ever since it was floated by Jagan in 2011. He is also known to be close to the YS family.
In 2012, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested Vijayasai Reddy, then financial advisor for Jagan's firms in quid-pro-quo cases. They spent several months in jail.
The cases relate to investments made by various companies in Jagan's firms as quid pro for favours bestowed on them during the tenure of his father Y S Rajasekhar Reddy as Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh between 2004 and 2009.
Jagan has repeatedly denied the allegations and termed the cases politically motivated.