New Delhi:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy's death has shaken the country beyond the state.
Who's next? This is a question most parties and chief ministers can't or won't answer. The Congress also has no answer a fortnight after the charismatic chief minister's death.
On Monday, the current Chief Minister, K Rosaiah, who was YSR's second in command, spoke out for the need to find a successor - quietly, away from the public demands and private lobbying for YSR's son.
"Actually no one expected this kind of a tragic death of Rajasekhara Reddy. So where is the question of succession plan? It is an accident which nobody expected I mean, even imagined. So in these circumstances, we have to quietly think about the successor and take a decision," said Rosaiah.
But it's equally troublesome for others. Take the BJP. It still doesn't have anybody to replace Advani as the next prime ministerial candidate of the BJP.
On paper, there are a host of options. But the infighting means nothing is certain, even for regular party and opposition posts. The final decision for any post now lies with an outside force, the RSS.
"Structured parties create leaders so no succession plan is needed. There should not be one. BJP may be attacked for infighting but it's a fact that the party has emerging leadership," said BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya braved a smile in the face of a whisper campaign that he's on his way out after the drubbing in the last elections. But the CPM while ruling out replacing the West Bengal Chief Minister, on Sunday, made its succession policy clear - each according to his or her ability.
"In that way, you can't dub as a succession plan. But the responsibilities are distributed judging the quality and effectiveness of the respective party leaders," said CPM secretary Biman Bose.
In the BSP, there's Mayawati and there's everybody else. Yet in 2008, Mayawati tantilizingly hinted at a successor who would, naturally, be a Dalit.
"Like Kashi Ramji and I, my successor will also be a Dalit. And unlike other political families, my successor will not be from my family, it will be the son of a poor village woman. I have forwarded his name to two party MPs," Mayawati had said in August 2008.
The only person who perhaps really knows is Mayawati herself.
Naveen Patnaik took over the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) from his father, but the Orissa Chief Minister is now perhaps more popular, his party concedes.
"In the natural process, Naveen Patnaik came. People have accepted him. I don't mean Biju Janata Dal. I say in all the regional parties internal democracy should be there," said Dr Damodar Rout, senior minister and secretary general of BJD.
"But it can not be said that somebody should select a man in future to be the next chief minister or prime minister. It's up to the people to decide and that should be the natural leadership," he added.
Then there are other parties like the Akali Dal and the DMK. Parkash Singh Badal and M Karunanidhi have unabashedly made their sons Deputy Chief Ministers. It's said that's the will of the parties.
"In DMK, M K Stalin has evolved to lead the party in his own right. And this is a clear indication by the party that he will be our future leader," said TKS Ilangovan, MP and DMK spokesperson.
Who's next? This is a question most parties and chief ministers can't or won't answer. The Congress also has no answer a fortnight after the charismatic chief minister's death.
On Monday, the current Chief Minister, K Rosaiah, who was YSR's second in command, spoke out for the need to find a successor - quietly, away from the public demands and private lobbying for YSR's son.
"Actually no one expected this kind of a tragic death of Rajasekhara Reddy. So where is the question of succession plan? It is an accident which nobody expected I mean, even imagined. So in these circumstances, we have to quietly think about the successor and take a decision," said Rosaiah.
But it's equally troublesome for others. Take the BJP. It still doesn't have anybody to replace Advani as the next prime ministerial candidate of the BJP.
On paper, there are a host of options. But the infighting means nothing is certain, even for regular party and opposition posts. The final decision for any post now lies with an outside force, the RSS.
"Structured parties create leaders so no succession plan is needed. There should not be one. BJP may be attacked for infighting but it's a fact that the party has emerging leadership," said BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya braved a smile in the face of a whisper campaign that he's on his way out after the drubbing in the last elections. But the CPM while ruling out replacing the West Bengal Chief Minister, on Sunday, made its succession policy clear - each according to his or her ability.
"In that way, you can't dub as a succession plan. But the responsibilities are distributed judging the quality and effectiveness of the respective party leaders," said CPM secretary Biman Bose.
In the BSP, there's Mayawati and there's everybody else. Yet in 2008, Mayawati tantilizingly hinted at a successor who would, naturally, be a Dalit.
"Like Kashi Ramji and I, my successor will also be a Dalit. And unlike other political families, my successor will not be from my family, it will be the son of a poor village woman. I have forwarded his name to two party MPs," Mayawati had said in August 2008.
The only person who perhaps really knows is Mayawati herself.
Naveen Patnaik took over the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) from his father, but the Orissa Chief Minister is now perhaps more popular, his party concedes.
"In the natural process, Naveen Patnaik came. People have accepted him. I don't mean Biju Janata Dal. I say in all the regional parties internal democracy should be there," said Dr Damodar Rout, senior minister and secretary general of BJD.
"But it can not be said that somebody should select a man in future to be the next chief minister or prime minister. It's up to the people to decide and that should be the natural leadership," he added.
Then there are other parties like the Akali Dal and the DMK. Parkash Singh Badal and M Karunanidhi have unabashedly made their sons Deputy Chief Ministers. It's said that's the will of the parties.
"In DMK, M K Stalin has evolved to lead the party in his own right. And this is a clear indication by the party that he will be our future leader," said TKS Ilangovan, MP and DMK spokesperson.
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