Chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to retain half of his ministers and take some new faces into his cabinet. The chief minister had hinted at the cabinet shuffle in the near future and had asked them to be prepared to accept whatever is given to them.

He told the ministers, after the budget approval on Friday, that the two years are crucial for the party and both cabinet and party work are equally important. He also told them that those who would take up the party work would have equal importance and protocol too.

The sources say that the chief minister is understood to have completed his desk work on who is to be retained and who is to be inducted. The laborious work of maintaining the caste and regional balance was over and the papers were ready on his table, sources said.

While the 2022-23 budget was big news in Andhra Pradesh on Friday, the cabinet shuffle too gained equal importance in the corridors of the Assembly. The cabinet-aspirants began enquiring about the chief minister’s hint given in the cabinet meeting. They are trying to read between the lines and try to find who is fortunate and who is not.

There has been speculation for the past three to four months that the chief minister would go for a 100 per cent shuffle of the cabinet. At the time of his cabinet formation, Jagan Mohan Reddy had told the ministers that he would take new faces after two-and-a-half years.

Now, sources say that the chief minister wants to retain some of the ministers and not to go for 100 percent replacement. This would mean that senior ministers like Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Botsa Satyanarayana, young ones, Kurasala Kanna Babu, Kodali Nani are sure of continuing in the cabinet.

However, it is to be seen what Jagan Mohan Reddy is thinking as the two years ahead are crucial for him and his leadership.