Hunt for successor to YSR begins

NEW DELHI: The hunt for a new Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh has begun in the Congress in right earnest with names of state Finance Minister K Rosaiah high on the list of probables doing the rounds.

77-year-old Rosaiah, the seniormost leader in the state, has been a minister in successive Congress governments and has taken over as interim Chief Minister.

The Congress Legislature Party is likely to meet in the next few days to elect the successor to Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who was killed in a helicopter mishap on Wednesday.

Rosaiah, a non-controversial figure, belongs to Vaishya community and hails from Prakasham district.

The other names that have cropped up in the succession race are Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy and PCC chief D Srinivas, who belongs to the backward class.

In case, the party decides that the Chief Minister's post should go to a leader belonging to the dominant Reddy community, the chances of Jaipal Reddy are said to be bright.

But if there are other considerations, then the choice could be spread over other candidates including Srinivas, who is from the Telangana region.

Jaipal Reddy is also from Telangana region hailing from Mehboob Nagar district. The late Chief Minister was from the Rayalseema region.