Vijayawada: Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan assumed the role of Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on Friday, following his appointment by the newly sworn-in CM Chandrababu Naidu. The portfolios of the newly inducted cabinet ministers were also announced, with Kalyan being assigned the ministries of Panchayat Raj, Rural Development, and Environment & Forest.

Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Telugu cinema superstar Chiranjeevi sparked speculations by referring to Pawan Kalyan as the ‘Deputy Chief Minister’ of Andhra Pradesh in separate social media posts.