Though only four ministers were shown the door as against 13 new entrants, Naidu sent a clear signal that he would neither tolerate charges of corruption nor lack of performance.

While S V Subba Reddy, Nettem Raghuram and T Srinivas Yadav are understood to have been dropped on account of alleged charges of corruption either against them or their close relatives, N Ramakishan Rao has been sacked for his poor performance. Naidu spoke to the four of them on Thursday morning and explained the reasons for his decision.

In finalising the new faces, Naidu took extra care to ensure the right mix of youth and experience while taking into account regional representation and caste equations. Kalidindi Ramachandra Raju, P Subbaiah, P Chadrasekhar and MandavaVenkateswara Rao were apparently inducted because of their clean image.

S A Khaleel Basha was picked up to provide representation to Muslims. He is less controversial compared to other contenders from among the Muslims. There was no minority representation in the Cabinet after Basheeruddin Babu Khan resigned in the wake of TDP extending support to the BJP government at the Centre.

Similarly, with just one woman member in the ministry, Naidu gave a berth to Pratibha Bharati, a senior legislator and former minister.

Besides inducting Venkateswara Rao, the chief minister has picked up another from the same district, P Srinivas Reddy, to strike a balance between Kamma and Reddy castes in the Telangana region.

Meanwhile, the induction of Gouthu Shyamsunder Sivaji, E Peddi Reddy and Devineni Venkata Ramana as state ministers, Naidu sought to infuse young blood into the Government.

Though C Krishna Yadav has been chosen to replace Srinivas Yadav from the city, the former's choice did not cause any flutteras he was in the good books of the chief minister for quite some time.

By selecting Damaracharla Anjaneyulu to provide representation to Prakasam district, the chief minister sought to dispel the impression that he was neglecting Kammas in the government. ``It is the best possible team that Naidu can offer,'' a senior TDP leader commented on the reshuffle.

As for Subba Reddy controversy, the TDP man representing Kurnool was axed mainly because of the financial dealings his son, Mohan Reddy, had with contractors in the district. Naidu is understood to have pointed it out to Subba Reddy while explaining the reasons for dropping him.

However, the canny Naidu ensured that the Reddy community was not hurt by inducting senior legislator B V Mohan Reddy.

Meanwhile, Kamma representative Raghuram, a staunch Naidu loyalist till recently, is facing charges in connection with transfers in the Excise department. He was also linked with the case relating to recovery of bags containing currency notes, which werestolen from the residence of his follower. Both Raghuram and the new entrant from Krishna district, Devineni Ramana, belong to the Kamma community.

Ramkishan Rao was found wanting in efficiency, both in managing his portfolio and party affairs in Karimnagar district represented by him. Rao, who is a Reddy, was replaced by Peddi Reddy belonging to the same community.