K. Naga Babu, Brother of Pawan Kalyan, Set to Join Andhra Pradesh Cabinet

Amaravati, Dec 9 (NationPress) The brother of Andhra Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, K. Naga Babu, is slated to join the state Cabinet, as revealed by Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday.

Naga Babu, who is the elder sibling of Pawan Kalyan and the younger brother of film icon Chiranjeevi, is also an accomplished actor and film producer. He served as the general secretary of Jana Sena and was actively involved in campaigning for the party during the recent elections.

As the TDP has nominated two candidates for the bye-elections to Rajya Sabha and allocated one seat to its ally BJP, it has chosen to include Jana Sena in the state Cabinet.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by TDP, comprises 164 MLAs in the 175-member Assembly, with TDP possessing 135 members while Jana Sena and BJP hold 21 and 8 seats respectively.

Naga Babu, also referred to as Nagendra Babu, will become the fourth minister from Jana Sena. Since he is not a member of the Assembly, the coalition is expected to nominate him to the Legislative Council to facilitate his induction into the State Cabinet.

At present, Pawan Kalyan (president of Jana Sena), Nadendla Manohar, and Kandula Durgesh serve as ministers from Jana Sena in Chandrababu Naidu's Cabinet.

The State Cabinet can accommodate a maximum of 25 members. Chandrababu Naidu and 23 ministers took their oaths on June 12. The TDP has inducted three ministers from Jana Sena and one from BJP, leaving one vacancy for Jana Sena.

Reports suggest that the TDP had offered a Rajya Sabha seat to Jana Sena, but Naga Babu expressed a preference for a ministerial role. Following the decision to leave the Rajya Sabha seat for BJP, Chandrababu Naidu opted to include Naga Babu in the Cabinet.

Naga Babu has been collaborating with Pawan Kalyan since the formation of Jana Sena in 2014.

Previously, both brothers actively participated in the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) initiated by their eldest brother, Chiranjeevi, in 2008. However, the party did not succeed in the 2009 elections, and two years later, Chiranjeevi merged it with the Congress party.