Political Diary: 2009-09-06

Will Chiru join Congress?

While Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu showed his utter disregard for late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy at the condolence meeting held at Ravindra Bharati on Friday, Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi presented a completely contrasting picture.

Chiranjeevi’s speech was more like that of a Congress leader and a die-hard YSR loyalist, rather than that of an opposition leader. He lavished praises on YSR and his leadership abilities, saying he had never seen such a mass leader in the past or would see in future. The PRP president recalled every moment of his association with YSR including his smile, his friendly appearance and his daring nature. He even recalled how he travelled along with YSR from Kadapa to Hyderabad, bypassing Nallamala forests.

One wondered whether Chiranjeevi has any plans to join the Congress, as he was asking everybody to carry forward the programmes and policies of YSR and follow his leadership. “I feel fortunate to be associated with him in assembly. It was an education to listen to his speeches, observe his style of answering debates and tackling the leaders. I never felt an opposition party member,” he said. What do you say?

Cong to wait for ’emotions to cool’ before deciding Jagan issue

The Congress leadership would wait for emotions to cool down before deciding on the issue of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today hinted and said the party would take an ’appropriate decision at appropriate time.’

’’It is not a big issue. Sometimes such things happen,’’ Mr Mukherjee said while reacting to the vociferous demand made by most Andhra Pradesh MLAs that former Chief Minister Y S R Reddy’s son Jagan Mohan Reddy be appointed as his successor.

Stating that no decision has been taken yet about the next Chief Minister, Mr Mukherjee, however, hoped that the matter be resolved and a way out would be found.

’’It is very unfortunate that Andhra Pradesh lost a tall leader and Chief Minister who was at his Zenith. Emotional upset is there.

I do hope that it will be possible for the leadership to find a way out, for the Congress legislature Party to choose and select the next leader. It may take sometime but it will resolve. Nothing has been decided as yet,’’ he said while interacting to members of Indian Women’s Press Corps here.

Regarding the demand that Jagan Mohan Reddy be made the Chief Minister, he said, emotionally upset by Mr Y S R Reddy’s untimely death, some people have suggested it on the basis of popular acceptability, but ’’sense has to be brought’’. The Congress will take appropriate decision to this at appropriate time, he added.

Asked about the possibility of Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy being made the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mukherjee jokingly quipped ’’you people are giving ideas.’’ Asked whether Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy be made the Chief Minister or not, he said, ’’I am neither ruling out anything, nor ruling in.’’

Cong appears to be in no mood to make any change in AP

The Congress on Friday appeared to indicate that it has no plans to install a new Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh, a move that may come as a dampener on the campaign for enabling Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy inherit his late father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s post.
“There is a Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh. A Cabinet has taken oath. If there is a change in the situation we will inform you,” the party spokesman, Manish Tiwari, said in his daily press briefing at the AICC.
He was replying to a volley of questions on the campaign by the Jaganmohan camp for anointing him as the next Chief Minister in the wake of his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s tragic death in a helicopter crash last week.
Asked if the campaign by Mr. Jagan’s camp amounted to indiscipline, Mr. Tiwari said the party was passing through stressful times following the death of YSR and it was natural emotions would run among his supporters. The party does not consider it as indiscipline, he added.
“There is nothing as caretaker Chief Minister in the Constitution,” he said in reply to a question on incumbent K Rosaiah, who was installed in the wake of YSR’s death.

AP ministers hopeful of Jagan becoming AP CM

Continuing to pitch for Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, two state ministers today expressed hope that the Congress high command would accept their request.
"We have requested them to make Jagan as chief minister.
We are hopeful that our wish would be accepted," Panchayat Raj Minister B Satyanarayana told reporters here.
Secondary Education Minister D Manikya Vara Prasad said there is no option other than Jaganmohan for the chief minister’s post.
"There is no other option. Jagan is a popular leader today," he said.
Almost all the cabinet ministers have expressed their support for making Jaganmohan as the chief minister.
In the wake of media reports that they were not cooperating with the interim Chief Minister K Rosaiah, the ministers asserted that they have full respect for him.
Rosaiah had also maintained that there were no differences in the Cabinet.

Posani defends praising YSR

Maverick film producer-director-actor and Praja Rajyam Party leader Posani Krishna Murali’s sudden praising of the Congress party and late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy came as a surprise to many in the political circles.
A couple of days ago, Posani issued big advertisements in the dailies, praising YSR and his immense contribution to the Congress. Perhaps, even the Congress leaders did not give such an advertisement. He described YSR as a visionary and an architecht of modern Andhra Pradesh etc. and that he was a people’s man. “YSR was the right choice of the people and nobody else could match him,” Posani said.
When media persons questioned him about his ad, Posani strongly defended it. “I don’t mind praising anybody who does or did good work for the people. In the past, I praised Chandrababu Naidu for going deep into coal mines to know the plight of mining workers. And if a leader does not do well, I criticise him. Even Chiranjeevi is no exception for it. I don’t have a double-tongue attitude,” he said.

Ministers are cooperating ,we are united :CM

K Rosaiah and the Congress Legislature Party on Thursday sought to put a united face to deny reports that supporters of Jagan Mohan Reddy were not not cooperating with the interim chief minister.
As the party grapples with the succession issues, media reported that ministers, loyal to Jagan Mohan Reddy, the son of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy were ignoring Rosaiah and were not not attending review meetings called by him.
Rosaiah, (77), a Congress veteran who has been a minister in successive party governments, asserted on Thursday that his Council of Ministers was "united" and all the members were working "together".
We are all united. The entire Cabinet is determined to fulfil the dreams of our leader YS Rajasekhara Reddy to set an example in the country in development and welfare schemes. We are working together with proper understanding," he told reporters.
We have not yet come out of the grief of losing our beloved leader. It is not fair for the media to send a wrong message to the public through such negative campaign, the CLP statement, quoting the ministers, said.

Deputy CM post added to choices for Jagan

The Congress high command is said to have offered three choices to YSR’s son Jaganmohan Reddy as an alternative to chief ministership.
Sources said the choices are the post of deputy CM, a position in the Union cabinet or a post in the state party. YSR aide and chief of ’Jagan-for-CM’ campaign KVP Ramachandra Rao returned to Hyderabad on Friday to discuss the choices with Jagan.
It became clear on Thursday that the high command is not ready to give the CM’s post to Jagan at this juncture. But none of these posts will help YS Jagan and his loyalists to protect their businesses and personal interests. We have to wait for few more days to bring some closure to the discussion.

NTV Survey- 78% Support For Jagan

According to a survey conducted by a private television channel, NTV, in association with Nielsen ORG Marg states that Jagan has got a huge 79% support from people as prospective Chief Minister.
Out of which 75% support has come from Telengana region, 80% from Coastal Andhra and 82% from Rayalaseema region.
And many other surveys are also stating that Jagan is getting anywhere between 60 to 80 percent of support from public to enthrone CM’s chair.

Emergency locator device traced, in damaged condition

A week after the helicopter of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy crashed, the police finally traced the key alarm instrument — Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) — from the debris near the site, but it was in a damaged condition.
Kurnool Superintendent of Police Ch. Srikant told The Hindu that the damage to the ELT was confirmed by a technician of the A.P. Aviation Corporation Limited.
However, it would be shown to the team from the office of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that arrived in Kurnool on Wednesday. The ELT of the helicopter did not emit any signals after the crash to assist the search and rescue operations.
Notwithstanding the damage, a senior police officer here said the ELT would be despatched to the DGCA headquarters in New Delhi. The police had handed over to DGCA the cockpit voice recorder, flight operation documents, report of the bomb disposal squad, CDs containing the video and photos of site and police panchanama.
He said that the Crime Investigation Department (CID) was veering round to the conclusion that there was no sabotage in the crash by a process of eliminating probabilities. However, the weather report had not been obtained yet and a thorough understanding of the professional skills of pilots S.K. Bhatia and M.S. Reddy still held the key to further investigation. The CID believes that it was either bad weather or pilots’ error or a combination of both that led to the tragedy.
Copter airworthy
A significant outcome of investigation by CID so far was that there was nothing wrong with the helicopter before it took off from the Begumpet airport. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will formally take over investigation of the case from the CID on Thursday.

CM for market intervention schemes to bring down prices

Though the state government feels that the prices of essential commodities like superfine variety of rice and tur dal have stabilized, the market reality is quite different. While superfine variety of rice continues to be sold at Rs 34 per kg, tur dal is still being sold at Rs 100 a kg.
Chief minister K Rosaiah, who reviewed the prices of essential commodities on Wednesday, directed officials to go in for market intervention schemes and intensify raids on hoarders and black-marketeers. He also directed that the revamped Food Advisory Committees and Price Monitoring Committees should meet regularly and monitor the price situation in the state.
According to a press release, officials had informed the chief minister that 500 gms of tur dal per month was being supplied to white card holders at the rate of Rs 45 per kg. From October 1, the white card holders would also get one kg of chana dal at Rs 30 per kg per month.
It was also decided to convene a meeting of dal and rice millers to seek their cooperation in selling them at reasonable prices even in the open market. The officials told Rosaiah that the civil supplies department had opened 496 counters for selling rice and dal at lesser rates than the open market. The chief minister expressed concern over the rise in the price of sugar and asked the officials to see that it was stabilized particularly in view of the festival season ahead.
The government will also issue a GO on incentives to be provided to the informants who report the hoarding and black-marketing, and to the officials who raid and seize the stocks in two days. The informants and the officials will be given two per cent of the value of the seized goods. The state government has written to the Centre on the need to fix maximum prices of preferred variety of rice and tur dal so that the seized stocks could be released into the market.
Interestingly, the prices of preferred superfine rice, fine/common variety rice, black gram, green gram, bengal gram, tamarind, chillies, onions, groundnut oil, sunflower oil and palmolien oil increased this month compared to last month. The price of red gram, however, showed a downward trend.
Further, according to the government, retail prices of Tomato, Brinjal, Bhendi, Greeen Chillies, Bitter Gourd, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Carrot and Onions remained the same as those in September last year. However, there has been a slight increase in the prices of Potatoes, and Ribbed Gourd.

Memorial for YSR at crash site not feasible

The state government’s proposal to erect a memorial for the late chief minister, Dr Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy, at the site of the accident in the Nallamalla forests is likely to run into rough weather on two counts.
The area falls in a protected wildlife sanctuary that is home to the highly protected tigers, and it is also inhabited by Maoist groups.

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, who chaired a cabinet meeting immediately after swearing in the cabinet, had announced that the government would construct a memorial in Hyderabad as well as at the accident spot in the Nallamalla hills.
Another memorial is also planned on YSR’s Idupulapaya estate near Pulivendla.

The place where the Bell 430-helicopter crashed, killing Dr Rajasekhar Reddy and four others, at Pavuralatippa, 30 km from Atmakur, is located in the core tiger area known as Gundla Brahmeswara Wildlife Sanctuary.
Tigers, panthers, sloth bears, wild dogs,hyenas, jungle cats, langurs, bonnet monkeys, marsh crocodiles, pangolin, sambar, nilgai, chowsinga, chinkara and mouse deer are some of the species found here.

Sources in the forest department said all types of construction activity is banned in notified sanctuaries. “It’s true the accident spot is located in a notified tiger sanctuary, the Gundla Brahmeswara Wildlife Sanctuary. All construction activity is banned in a tiger reserve unless permitted by the central government and the Central Board for Wildlife,” said Mr A. V. Joseph, additional principal conservator of forests (Admn).

The cabinet, it seems took a hasty decision. If a memorial is constructed here roads will have to be laid and basic facilities such as a guest house, lighting arrangements, drinking water and other facilities that are not permitted in reserve forest areas, will have to be provided.

KvP meets PM for Jagan’s CM claim

K V P Ramachandra Rao, who is leading the campaign for Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s claim to Andhra Pradesh chief ministership, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to strengthen his bid for the state’s top job.

Rao, a confidant of the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was closeted with Singh for 30 minutes at the Prime Minister’s Race Course Road residence here.

"The Prime Minister knows everything about the political situation in the state. He is also aware of the people’s and party men’s sentiments. I do not have to explain the details to him," Rao told reporters after the meeting.

On his discussions with Singh, Rao said the Prime Minister was particularly concerned over the health and the mental state of family members, relatives and friends of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash last week.

"The Prime Minister particularly enquired about their state of health and whether the family members, especially his wife, have resumed their normal life after YSR’s sudden demise," Rao said.

He said Singh advised him to devote more time to family members and shared his grief and also asked him to convey his condolences to all family members and supporters of YSR and party workers in the state.

Rao’s meeting with Singh came a day after he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who assured the YSR camp that she will consult all concerned, including the Prime Minister, before taking a final decision on the leadership issue in the state.

152 MLAs back Jagan as CM

The former home minister, Mr K. Jana Reddy, joined the “Jagan as Chief Minister” campaign on Tuesday.

The media had hitherto reported that Mr Jana Reddy was not interested in projecting anyone as a Chief Ministerial candidate as he wanted to support a nominee chosen by the party high command.

Mr Jana Reddy called on Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy and his mother Vijayalakshmi on Tuesday at the late chief minister’s residence in Begumpet. He handed over a letter of support to request the high command to choose Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy as the next Chief Minister.

Another former minister, Mr J.C. Diwakar Reddy, also gave his letter of support to Mr Jagan.

With this, 152 out of the 154 Congress MLAs are supporting Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy. The former minister and Sanathnagar MLA, Mr M. Shashidhar Reddy and the Khairatabad MLA, Mr P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy have not signed any letter so far supporting Mr Jagan Mohan.

Meanwhile, the APSRTC chairman and former minister, Mr M. Sathyanarayana Rao, issued a statement urging the party high command to select Mr Jagan Mohan for the top post.

‘With all my seniority and experience in the party for over five decades I have come to a conclusion that in this hour of crisis, the Congress high command should nominate Mr Jagan Mohan as the Chief Minister,” he said.

YSR chopper’s Cockpit Voice Recorder ’partly damaged

The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) in the ill-fated Bell-430 helicopter of Andhra Pradesh government, which crashed in Nallamala forest on September 2 killing chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others, was found to be in a "partly damaged" condition. Indian representatives of the Bell helicopter company were asked to decode the CVR, but since it was in a "partly damaged" condition, decoding proved difficult, the state government’s Crisis Management Committee informed home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy late tonight. An official press communique later said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has informed that the CVR would be sent to the US for decoding in case the exercise became difficult here. The CVR-38 solid state model was manufactured by Universal Avionics Systems Corporation, TucSon-AZ, USA. The committee is chaired by the Chief Secretary with Director General of Police, Principal Secretary (Home) and other top officials as members. The CMC held a meeting with the home minister late in the night to discuss the issue. The condition and other details of the Emergency Locator Transmitter would come to light in the inquiries by DGCA, state Crime Investigation Department, CBI and the two-member expert committee, the CMC said.

Report on security lapses at Idupulapaya likely to submit

The one-man committee headed by Additional Director General of Police A K Khan is likely to submit his report on the alleged security lapses on the cremation day of former Chief Minister Dr YS Rajsekhara Reddy at Idupulapaya on September 3. According to source, the Government had appointed a one-man committee two days back to probe into the police lapses leading to commotion, traffic jams resulting in the Ministers, Opposition leaders failing attend to the creamation in time from Renigunta. The Ministers, Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu, PRP President Chiranjeevi flew to Renigunta from here and from there they proceeded to Idupulapaya by buses. However, they failed to reach the place in time due to heavy traffic jams. There were allegations that the police had failed to take necessary steps to control the people who thronged Idupulapaya to attend the cremation. Mr Khan would submit his report tomorrow evening or the day after morning, the sources said. Meanwhile, the the CID probe which was appointed by government to inqire into the crash of helicopter in which the departed leader and four others were killed on September 2 would submit its report in four days, the sources said

YSR’s death impact’s Tirumala pilgrims

The world famous Venkateswara temple witnessed low turnout of pilgrims since Y S Rajashekara Reddy’s death. For the last few days including weekends, there had been a big respite, with only few compartments witnessing huge rush at the Vaikuntam queue complex. While on last Saturday and Sunday when heavy pilgrim rush is generally seen, it registered very less amount of people and took three hours for the general pilgrims to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara Swamy, according to temple sources. Correspondingly, the occupancy rate in the APSRTC buses bound for Tirumala was also low compare to weekend rush. However, it is the first time in the history of the temple that the weekend witnessed a fall in the pilgrims rush to Tirumala, sources said. The temple hundi collection was also affected due to fall in the pilgrim rush. The Congress leaders, who were in the state at mourning mood, stayed away from visiting Tirumala temple and also received very low number of recommendation letters from the State Ministers, Congress MLAs and also from other states, the sources added.

Former Andhra Pradesh Speaker urges Sonia Gandhi to consider Jagan’s candidature

Former Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker K R Suresh Reddy today urged the AICC President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to consider the candidature of Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, MP and son of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to lead the destiny of the state for the benefit of the party. In a letter addressed to Ms Gandhi, Mr Reddy said the general perception amongst the people in Andhra Pradesh is that Mr Jagan can fill the void and with the support of senior leaders and blessings of the High Command, will be able to steer the party and the government out of the present desolation. The MPs positive approach, youthfulness and the legacy of his father will, undoubtedly be an asset to the Congress and the government, he added He said at this critical juncture, it is essential for the incumbent to continue the welfare programmes with zeal and enthusiasm, as promised in the Congress manifesto under the leadership of Ms Gandhi. The former Speaker said as a dedicated soldier of the Congress party he is confident that Mr Jagan will be acceptale to the senior leaders of the party, since the dynamic youth is expected to act as a catalyst amongst various sections of the Congress party

YSR chopper crash: Probes not ’parallel or contradictory’

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah today maintained that the investigations into the September 2 helicopter crash, in which late Chief Minister Y S Rajaekhara Reddy and four others died, were ’not parallel or contradictory in nature’. He told reporters here the different agencies entrusted with the investigation would look into different aspects of the mishap. The findings of one organisation would also be passed on to other organisations for better understanding of the reasons for the crash, he said. The state government had urged the Centre to order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation as it was the appropriate agency to deal with such a mishap. It was only to remove doubts among public on various aspects of the crash that the state government had also constituted a two-member expert team to look into all aspects of the crash

YSR’s son trying to display leadership qualities?

In what is seen as an attempt to display his leadership skills, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the son of late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Tuesday urged people to pay tribute to his father by voting for the Congress party.
Sitting in front of a portrait of his father, the young MP made an appeal to voters in the Tekkali assembly constituency - going for by-elections Thursday - not only to help Congress retain the seat but also to vote for the party in the 2014 elections.
Jagan, as the Kadapa MP is popularly known, made the appeal amid a growing demand from his supporters in the party to make him the next chief minister.
Reiterating YSR’s words a couple of days before his tragic death in a helicopter crash on Sep 2, Jagan said the Congress would retain power in the 2014 polls and Rahul Gandhi would become the prime minister.
With folded hands, the 37-year-old Jagan appealed to people to strengthen the party under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi by casting their votes in favour of the party.
"We have to carry forward the vision and policies of the late leader," said Jagan.
The bye-election from the Tekkali assembly constituency in Srikakulam district in north coastal Andhra is being held Thursday to fill the vacancy created by the death of K. Revatipathi of the Congress party on June 2. He died a few days after the assembly elections and a day before he was to take oath as legislator.
Jagan’s appeal is being seen as an attempt to counter some other contenders to the chief minister’s post who claim he lacks political experience.
His supporters argue that he may have been elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time, but he had leadership qualities and was quite active in Kadapa district politics for the last few years.
This is the second time after his father’s death that Jagan has appeared on television channels to make an appeal. On Sep 4, before the burial of YSR, Jagan had made an emotional appeal to YSR’s followers and fans not to commit suicide.
He also issued a written statement Sep 6, urging his supporters to halt a campaign in his favour and wait for the decision of the party’s central leadership.

Jagan camp plays sentiment card, claims support of 148 MLAs

The post-YSR succession story might have got complicated with the dead chief minister’s loyalists likely to shift their campaign for Jagan Mohan Reddy installing his son Jagan Mohan Reddy to Delhi and the party high command not keen to be hustled into taking what will be a crucial political call.

Perhaps with the objective of allowing emotions to subside, the party high command has taken the position that it will deal with the succession issue only after the mourning period ends even as it keenly assesses the situation in the state. The momentum to make Jagan the CM has not ebbed so far, and Congress is keeping a wary eye on developments.

By swiftly swearing-in veteran K Rosaiah, the leadership has certainly bought itself some time and going by the look of things, the 77-year-old leader could have to hold fort for a while till the Congress leadership sorts out the claims in the state in the wake of a large power vacuum caused by the death of YSR.

The Congress leadership is genuinely desirous of keeping the interests of YSR’s family in mind given the tragic nature of his demise and proximity to 10, Janpath, but it is wary of an impression being created that it was served a fait accompli. It is also keen that the Andhra Pradesh unit does not break down into warring factions as was often the scene before the late CM consolidated his hold on power after 2004.

The charge of the YSR brigade is, however, likely to create a ticklish situation as it will inevitably have the shades of a "state versus Centre" conflict. This could mean the high command has to accommodate Jagan Reddy even as it hunts for an acceptable face. This dilemma is acute as there is no clear choice in sight.

Factions who were opposed to YSR and shut out of the scene completely were quick to claim that the campaign for Jagan was being "stage-managed" by persons, including a Rajya Sabha MP, close to the dead leader. They said no "senior" MP was keen to associate with the campaign. But one of them did agree that there was no other easily identifiable choice and that younger MLAs and MPs had veered towards the son.

Congress leadership is also thinking hard of the consequences of putting a young Jagan Reddy in the CM’s chair. He may find out that he has bitten rather more than anticipated while others ran the show. In the circumstances, it would be useful to persevere with Rosaiah till it was possible to arrive at a calmer decision.

The visit of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the bereaved family, besides a clutch of central leaders, shows that the show of solidarity with the family could help deal with the succession issue.

Sources said the leadership was still to apply its mind to the issue but the two emissaries on the ground, Union ministers and AICC leaders Prithviraj Chavan and Veerappa Moily, have gained a sense of the mood after YSR’s exit from the scene. The preparations will be made accordingly.

Congress is looking for a blend of seniority and loyalty, a combination which goes against Jagan Reddy. It has sought to downplay the campaign in favour of his installation as CM in Hyderabad, calling it an "emotional outburst" to avoid having to take a serious look against it.

That the Centre does not take a favourable view of the Jagan-as-CM campaign came out when AICC spokesman Shakeel Ahmed on Friday called it a "moment of tragedy and mourning" while advising "there should not be any politics on it".

With few genuine replacements at hand, insiders don’t rule out giving a more than "interim arrangement" form to Rosaiah. Sources said a failure to find an acceptable face could see the old hand hang on to the hot seat. His hailing from a "neutral" Vaishya caste outside the contending Reddy and Kamma communities is seen as a soothing factor on the volatile turf.

There is always the option of accommodating Jagan Reddy at the Centre, something he may not be averse to in his bid to consolidate his father’s political legacy. The young son has both the family’s political and business interests to protect.

With the iron hand of YSR gone, the fear of rival lobbies reviving is bound to play on the minds of the leadership. While it is seen as an effective way of cancelling out the pro-Jagan lobby, there are concerns if a future leader would be able to ensure that the state unit remained united behind the new CM.

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