Even before the body of YS Rajasekhara Reddy was laid to rest, the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet wrote a letter to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, on Friday urging her to consider the candidature of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, son of the former chief minister, as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party and chief minister of the state.
"Just like Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Mr Jaganmohan Reddy is having a good following among masses from grass root level and acceptable to all sections particularly the downtrodden and weaker sections for the chief minister post" , the letter, bearing the signatures of all the 36 ministers in AP, stated.
The state Cabinet headed by interim chief minister, K Rosaiah, also passed a unanimous resolution on Thursday night proposing Jaganmohan Reddy's name for the chief minister's post.
"Mr Jaganmohan Reddy is the only suitable candidate in the present circumstances", the ministers stated adding that he alone would be able to fulfill "the dreams of Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy".
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, along with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi arrived here and paid homage to the departed leader. In a message, the Prime Minister said that the people of AP have lost an "ideal" chief minister who was personally concerned about the welfare of the poor.
"For us in the Congress Party his passing is a huge loss", Sonia Gandhi stated in her message.
Stating that "YSR was a true leader", Rahul Gandhi said that he had "personally learnt a lot" from the former chief minister.
