YSR all set to take oath as AP CM

Congress leader Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy is all set to take oath as Andhra Pradesh chief minister on Wednesday evening for the second consecutive term.

A delegation of Congress party leaders called on Governor N.D. Tiwari in the morning to inform him of Rajasekhara Reddy’s election as leader of the party’s newly-elected legislators.

Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, who has entered the record books as not just the first chief minister of the Congress party to retain power in nearly three decades but also the only one to have completed a full term in the state, will take oath at a public function to be held at Lal Bahadur Stadium in the heart of the city.

The governor will administer the oath of office and secrecy to him at 6.30 p.m. before an estimated gathering of 15,000 people that will include Congress supporters from his native Kadapa district.

It was at the same venue that YSR had taken oath as the chief minister on May 14, 2004. This time, the Congress won 156 of Andhra Pradesh’s 294 seats and bagged 33 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats.

YSR, who prefers a public ceremony for taking oath like Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N.T. Rama Rao, will be taking oath alone. The 60-year-old leader is likely to induct 24 ministers later this week.

The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) had met late Tuesday to unanimously elect YSR as the leader in the presence of the party’s central leader and observer M. Veerappa Moily.

Earlier in the day, the outgoing state cabinet had met for the last time and submitted its resignation.

The chief minister then drove to Raj Bhavan to submit the resignation of the council of ministers to the governor and recommend to him to dissolve the 13th assembly. The governor asked YSR to continue as the chief minister till the new government was in place