Vijayawada: On Monday, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu announced the induction of Konidala Nagababu, the brother of Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan, into the state cabinet. With this move, the number of ministers in the cabinet will rise to 25.
Nagababu, a well-known Telugu film actor, entered politics in 2009 with the Praja Rajyam Party, founded by his older brother, Chiranjeevi. He later aligned with his younger brother, Pawan Kalyan, and became an active member of Jana Sena. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he contested from Narasapuram but lost. However, he remained involved in the party’s activities, serving as its general secretary.
Nagababu was initially slated to contest the 2024 general elections from Anakapalli, but had to step aside when the seat was allocated to the BJP as part of a seat-sharing agreement. Although there was speculation that he might be appointed to the Rajya Sabha from one of the three vacant seats in the state, the BJP’s nomination of R. Krishnaiah led Naidu to offer Nagababu a cabinet position instead.
