YS Rajasekhara Reddy failed to beat the odds this time. For the 60 year leader, whose shocking death has resulted in a sudden vacuum and a questionmark as to who will inherit the stable political legacy that he has left behind in the state, beating the odds was his road to success.

He faced it all, from the elections to the Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha earlier this year, even when the tide appeared to be against him in the backdrop of five years of anti-incumbency. Political pundits had then said the Congress under Reddy would perform badly. ?Please trust me, Madam,? he is believed to have told Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who decided to go by his word.

Reddy proved himself right when he not only got 33 seats in the Lok Sabha but bettered the party?s performance in the state to secure 156 Assembly seats. It was the 33 seats in Andhra Pradesh that made the critical difference in the Lok Sabha elections and brought the UPA to power at the Centre once again.

Similarly, he beat the odds in 2004, when he threw out the nine year old TDP government led by N Chandrababu Naidu, inspite of the pro-reforms image that the latter enjoyed. Rajasekhara Reddy grew from the faction-ridden and often violence-marked politics of Cuddapah, from where he hails to emerge as the undisputed leader of Andhra Pradesh. He shot into the limelight when he set out on his now famous padayatra through out the state. With a campaign of rural transformation to counter the IT image of Chandrababu Naidu, Reddy trudged over 1400 kilometers to regain power for the Congress.

He always carried a reputation of being tough, even though he did give an impression of mellowing down in the last few years compared to the aggressive image that he carried earlier. Party circles though insist that his style has remained the same, ensuring that alternate groups within did not get any opportunity to flourish, which is why there is a sudden leadership vacuum in the state Congress. The approach also ensured him a free run for five years from 2004, earning in the process, admiration from the central leadership.

The firmness was also evident in his approach on the Telengana issue, on which he refused to back down. The party high command ultimately decided to endorse his line despite strong opposition from within. Reddy also convinced the party to go it alone in the 2009 elections, despite the emergence of Praja Rajyam led by the popular actor Chiranjeevi.

Hyderabad, Charismatic Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who steered the Congress to two consecutive electoral triumphs, was killed when his helicopter crashed and exploded on a hill in the Nallamala forest ranges on Wednesday.

The charred body of 60-year-old Reddy and those of four others who also died in the crash were traced this morning after nearly 24 hours of massive aerial and ground search operations in dense forests after the helicopter went missing at around 9.30 AM, about an hour after take-off from here for Chittoor.

The others who died were his principal secretary K Subramanyam, chief security officer A S C Wesley and pilot Group Captain S K Bhatia and co-pilot M S Reddy.

Hours later, an intense race for succession began with supporters of the late leader pushing for his son Jagan Mohan Reddy, a first-time member of Lok Sabha, as the next chief minister.

Finance minister K Rosaiah, a veteran leader, was sworn in as chief minister but the AICC observer and Union law minister M Veerappa Moily said it was only an ?interim arrangement? for fulfilling Constitutional obligations.

The arrangement, he said, would continue till the Congress Legislature Party meets to elect the new leader. Reddy?s body has been brought here and would be taken to his birth place Pulivendla in Kadapa for last rites on Friday when a state funeral will be given. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi will be here to pay their last respects.

The first news of location of the wreckage came from the IAF which said one of its helicopters spotted it on a hillock, about 70 kms from Atmakur in Kurnool district.

The chief minister had set out aboard the government-owned twin-engined Bell 430 chopper for a village in Chittoor for a surprise visit to check implementation of a welfare programme. It lost radio contact and went missing an hour after take off. ?The chopper hit a cliff of a hillock, crashed and exploded. All the five persons in the ill-fated helicopter were burnt to death,? Rosaiah and chief secretary P Ramakanth Reddy told a press conference on Thursday.

Reddy?s body will be kept for public view in Hyderabad on Friday before being taken to his hometown.

The Union Cabinet, which met in Delhi and condoled his death, decided to accord a state funeral for him. National flag flew half-mast all over the country while Central government offices will remain closed in Andhra Pradesh on Friday.

The Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi, leader of Opposition L K Advani and host of other leaders condoled Reddy?s death and hailed him as a mass leader who worked tirelessly for the people.

PTI

No succession war?

Senior leader K Rosaiah was sworn in as the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday evening, putting off the issue of the rightful political successor to YSR Rajasekhara Reddy temporarily even as speculation on several names began doing the rounds with the latter?s son, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy topping the list.

Rosaiah, who was the finance minister and had taken control since Wednesday after Rajasekhara Reddy went missing, was sworn in as chief minister in a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhawan. The 78 year old veteran, known as a party loyalist, immediately convened an informal meeting with members of the Cabinet headed by Reddy and adopted a resolution mourning his sudden demise.

That, Rosaiah?s elevation to chief ministership, however, was a temporary move became evident when union law minister Veerappa Moily, who is also incharge of the state, asserted that it only an interim arrangement.

Among the names that were doing the rounds included union minister S Jaipal Reddy, APCC president D Srinivas, former home minister Jana Reddy and senior leader and former PCC chief Keshav Rao. However, it was 32 year old Jagan Mohan Reddy?s name that has emerged strongly with indications of a signature campaign being initiated by Congress chief whip B Vikramarka, with the backing of majority of the 156 Congress MLAs, most of whom owed their allegiance to his father Rajasekhara Reddy. Reports from Hyderabad said that informal resolutions were also sought to be pushed by majority of the ministers at the informal cabinet meeting convened by new chief minister K Rosaiah in support of Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is presently a Lok Sabha member from Cudappah.

There was no clear word on the issue from the central leadership with the obvious message that it should be taken in a few days time, after the funeral of Rajasekhara Reddy and the official mourning period was over. Party circles, however, conceded that finding a successor would not be an easy task given that Reddy?s sudden demise had created a vacuum in the party. One view was that Rosaiah had all the requisite qualifications to replace Rajasekhara Reddy. The veteran leader, who belongs to the Vaishya community, has been finance minister under different Congress chief ministers and well versed with matters relating to administration. What, however, goes against him is his age and the fact that he does not belong to the mainline caste groups in the state.

Jaipal Reddy, on the other hand, belongs to the dominant Reddy community and hails from the Telegana region. The PCC chief D Srinivas, is another potential contender from the backward community and also hailing from the Telengana region.