With the sudden and sad demise of Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy , Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, there is a vacuum felt in the state party leadership. This is totally understandable given the credibility YSR was carrying. With one term behind him, YSR was all set to rule for another 5 years and was the undisputed king in this area. The significance of his role for the Congress party was unparalleled and hence his untimely demise must be causing a major headache for the party bigwigs.

So the big question is: Who will be the next CM of Andhra? Acting CM Rosaiah knows this is a temporary role, but the Congress party high command has not ruled him out yet. Some of the names suggested by Congress include Union urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy, Minister of State for Defence M Pallam Raju, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N T Rama Rao’s daughter and junior Union minister Purandeshwari Devi and acting chief minister K Rosaiah.

But almost as a knee-jerk reaction after confirming the death of YSR, almost all the state ministers, about 22 MPs and several Congress legislators recommended Jaganmohan Reddy, son of Late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy for the CM’s position. They also called on Andhra Pradesh Governor N. D. Tiwari and submitted a list of 122 signatures to support the appointment of Jaganmohan as the next A.P. CM.

Now, the party has to make sure there is no factionalism that will split the party in the future and jeopardize all that has built in the state by YSR. They have to walk the tightrope and keep everybody happy.

I personally feel appointing someone to the post of a CEO of State is not a matter of emotional choice. People may want to make the son or daughter the king, but is that person capable of managing the state? The CM should be responsible for the welfare of the people of his state. The CM is primarily judged by political parties as someone who can garner enough votes for the next election. What happens to the people an their welfare is merely a by-product of the big game called politics. i am nt saying Jaganmohan is incapable, I just don’t know anything about that person. He may be a genius but should’nt  our politicians exercise some discipline and not act in such an immature manner? Should we not at some point put the dynastic rule behind and think more logically as a professional organization would do? Should we not encourage and train our MP’s o think more like businessmen who would only think about the shareholders (the public they represent)?

What do you folks think? How should we go about electing a CM when disaster strikes?