Congress halts Jagan's CM aspirations

An organisational portfolio in the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress party seems to be all that Y S Jaganmohan Reddy--son of late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy--will get for the time being. Halting his aspirations of taking over the mantle from his father, the Congress high command has decided to continue with current Chief Minister K Rosaiah for the time being.

An announcement in this regard is expected to come after new governments are installed in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.

Jaganmohan Reddy had come to Delhi to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week after his supporters took the centre stage for over a month, demanding his appointment as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. It was his first visit to the national capital after his father's tragic death in a chopper accident.

Sources close to Gandhi suggest that YSR's son has been clearly told that a political greenhorn like him can't be made chief minister of an important and complex state like Andhra Pradesh. Jaganmohan, on his part, too, didn't press the matter and as a show of loyalty, told Gandhi that he would abide by whatever decision the party took.

As Jaganmohan also indicated that he wanted to work in the state and did not have much ambition at the Centre, the Congress leadership was trying to fit him in the state party. Although making him the state unit president in Andhra Pradesh is also ruled out, YSR's son is likely to get a plum portfolio with a glamourous assignment.

Meanwhile, the Congress leadership wants K Rosaiah to continue as the chief minister as he belongs to the Vaishya community and is not a Reddy. According to a top Congress leader, the post will eventually go to a Reddy but the party may take some more time to find an alternative to YSR Reddy.

Gandhi has also assured Jaganmohan that he will be duly consulted while picking up the next chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.