The recent appointment of 14 state joint secretaries in the YSR Congress Party has raised questions about whether party president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is even aware of their backgrounds.
Even within the party, leaders are expressing surprise and disbelief over these appointments, as none of the new "state joint secretaries" appear to have any political experience, not even at the grassroots level — let alone any significant role at the state level.
According to sources, 12 out of the 14 newly appointed state joint secretaries were part of Challa Madhusudhan Reddy’s team. Challa headed the YSRCP’s IT wing during the party’s tenure in power from 2019 to 2024.
Of these, 10 members had previously worked as salaried employees at the Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation (APSDC), where Challa Madhusudhan Reddy served as an advisor, while others worked in different departments.
For instance, Bayanaboina Gopinath was an office boy at the State Assembly before moving to a position at APSDC.
Ambavaram Bhaskar Reddy worked in the party’s IT wing in Bengaluru before becoming an employee at the Andhra Pradesh Corporation for Outsourced Services (APCOS).
Similarly, Tumma Jayaram Reddy, Macherla Kasireddy, Mariapati Mahesh Babu, Gedi Srinivasulu Reddy, and G. Venkata Ramana were all salaried staff members at APSDC.
Govindareddypalle Dinesh and Yarkareddy Leela Krishna Reddy were reportedly part of Challa Madhusudhan Reddy’s personal team.
Party leaders are questioning how salaried employees with no political exposure have suddenly been elevated to key political positions.
"This raises suspicion that a senior party leader, possibly Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, might have made these appointments without Jagan’s full knowledge of their backgrounds," a party leader said.
This is not the first time such appointments have drawn criticism. In the past, Jagan also appointed Pudi Srihari and Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy as state general secretaries of YSRCP.
"Both were salaried government employees during Jagan’s tenure — Srihari was the Chief Public Relations Officer, and Ponnavolu served as the Additional Advocate General. Neither had any political background," the leader pointed out.
