Will son Jagan step into YSR's shoes?

4 September 2009


NEW DELHI: While the Congress legislature party in Andhra Pradesh will meet after the mourning period for Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is over, the party high command could be looking for the right mix of experience and loyalty in deciding who will inherit the dead chieftain's mantle.

Congress leaders tasked to assess the political situation are being careful in airing their views with a senior minister saying the succession issue was not on the table at present. Apart from guarding against media speculation as tenancy of a key state is very much a concern for the leadership, there is a lack of obvious choices to fill a large void.

Party sources tended to agree that Congress would not like to experiment at the present juncture and look for a leader who could carry factions and keep the government on a steady course. There is a lot at stake as various factions in the state have been kept in check by YSR's dominance. The party also hopes that the YSR's cremation and the next few days, will allow emotions to ebb.

Even though the party leadership sees the upsurge in favour of YSR's son Jagan Reddy as an "emotional reaction", the family's interests would be kept in mind. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has considered YSR to be close to her and party leaders are pretty certain that his son Jagan Reddy will be very much part of her calculations. Whether this would extend to the CM's post is not clear.

Some Congress MPs felt the rush by YSR loyalists to sign a petition could be counter-productive as the leader's cremation has not even taken place. It does seem obvious the Reddy and backward caste (BC) factors would have to be taken into consideration. The two communities have backed Congress and it is felt that anyone who is now made CM will have the benefit of a grace period as political rivals will have to offer some deference to YSR's memory.

In this context the name of MoS defence Pallam Raju is seen as a possibility. The Kakinada MP is seen to have a good image and is in the good books of the Congress leadership and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. NTR's daughter and MoS HRD D Purandeshwari is seen as having done well in government but is a Kamma, a caste not compatible with the Congress in Andhra Pradesh at all.

Senior minister S Jaipal Reddy was being seen as a leader who met the experience and loyalty test but he was also an obvious choice for the media to discuss. But he has been out of state politics for decades and is still a bit of an "outsider" in the party, being out of the loop in terms of Congress politics at the Centre. The minister himself is understood to be chary of the job.

State Congress chief D Srinivas is a BC and a contender for the post and is also seen in positive light by the Congress leadership. However, he suffers the disadvantage of having lost the last Assembly polls.

Despite known names being discussed, party sources admitted that it was very difficult to predict just who could make the cut. It is a situation where, given YSR's long stint in politics and his nearly six years as CM, no one seems to be close to looking a like-for-like choice.