File photo of TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu
Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju is likely to be the lone face from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to be inducted into the union cabinet on Monday, party sources said.
This was believed to have been decided at the meeting between TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi in Delhi on Sunday.
Mr Raju is likely to be sworn in along with other ministers after the swearing in of Mr Modi as the Prime Minister.
The 62-year-old was elected to Lok Sabha from Vizianagaram in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. This scion of the Pusapati royal family is one of the senior-most leaders of the TDP. In a political career spanning nearly 35 years, he was elected to Andhra Pradesh assembly seven times and held various ministries in the state cabinet.
The TDP, a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, has 16 MPs - 15 from Andhra Pradesh (Seemandhra) and one from Telangana.
Meanwhile, sources say some senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Shourie, Ravi Shankar Prasad are expected to find a place in the Cabinet.