Ending days of speculation, the YSRCP has decided that former state Minister and senior legislator Tammineni Seetharam will serve as the new Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
The decision was reportedly taken after Tammineni Seetharam met with Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the latter’s residence in Amaravati after the YSRCP Legislature Party meeting held on Friday morning.
The sitting MLA from Amadalavalasa in Srikakulam district, Seetharam was also one of the names doing the rounds for a cabinet post.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Seetharam said, "I will try to coordinate with the ruling YSRCP and opposition TDP Members in the House. I will give equal opportunities to the ruling and opposition party members based on their strength in the House. I will never try to muzzle the voice of the opposition party."
A senior leader who was with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for many years, Seetharam worked as a minister in the cabinet of NT Rama Rao in the 80s and Chandrababu Naidu in the 90s. Following this, he lost two elections consecutively; on a TDP ticket in 2004 and again in 2009 after the Praja Rajyam Party, founded by actor-politician Chiranjeevi, gave him a ticket.
In 2013, he joined the YSRCP but was defeated in the 2014 elections. He regained the Amadalavalasa seat in 2019.
With Jagan announcing the name of a leader from Srikakulam district, it seems that the party also wants to project that it cares about the interests of north coastal Andhra, referred to as the Uttarandhra region. Jagan's predecessor, Chandrababu Naidu, was accused of ignoring the aspirations of the people in this region, with many analysts suggesting that it was one of the reasons for his loss.
Ahead of the announcement, many names did the rounds, including senior leader Anam Narayana Reddy, as many people from Nellore district were aspiring for ministerial berths.
The question of who will be named Deputy Speaker was also answered as the party has reportedly picked Kona Raghupathi, the MLA from Bapatla, who hails from a prominent political family. Raghupathi's father, Prabhakara Rao, was a senior politician who also served as a Governor of Sikkim and Maharashtra. Raghupathi is also related to prominent Telugu film producer Kona Venkat.
Jagan on Friday said he will have five deputy chief ministers. The YSRCP chief, who took oath as the Chief Minister on May 30, will have deputy chief ministers from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, minorities and Kapus.
The move is aimed at giving proper representation to major social groups, the party said.