HYDERABAD, 13 May 2004 — The Congress Legislature Party yesterday elected Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy as its leader, paving the way for his swearing in as the new Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 14.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting of the 185 newly-elected legislators, following the party’s landslide victory in the assembly polls, Congress Working Committee member Ghulam Nabi Azad said that YSR was unanimously chosen as the CLP leader.
All the MLAs present were of the view that YSR was the right choice for the post, since he had held the same post in the previous assembly and effectively was the leader of the opposition in the last four and a half years during outgoing Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s tenure.
“YSR has been elected as CLP leader as per the direction given by AICC President Sonia Gandhi,” Azad said.
YSR’s candidature was proposed by AP Congress Committee President D. Srinivas, who opted out of the race after it became known that the party high command was backing YSR.
All the MLAs seconded YSR’s candidature by a voice vote during the CLP meeting that lasted a couple of hours.
For Congress strongman YSR it has been a long, long wait of nearly two decades to realize his life’s prime ambition.
YSR is the best-known face of the Congress in the state and he is, at the moment, the only leader in his party enjoying public support across all the regions in the state.
Free electricity to farmers will be the first order Reddy will pass after taking over as the new chief minister tomorrow. “We will fulfill all the promises,” YSR said minutes after he was unanimously elected leader.
Money would not be a constraint to fulfilling the promises made to farmers and the poor, he said.
Legislator K. Suresh Reddy told newsmen that free electricity to farmers would be the first file to be signed by YSR.
Governor Surjit Singh Barnala yesterday invited Reddy, after being elected the party chief, to form the government in Andhra Pradesh.
