Will Jagan be the next Andhra Chief Minister?

The Congress Legislature Party meeting to decide who will be the next chief minister  of  Andhra Pradesh is scheduled for the 10th of this month. Will YSR Reddy's son be chosen as his successor?

At the Congress party officer in Hyderabad, strategy is the talk of the hour. Ministers are figuring out how to replace their present boss, K Rosaiah, with YSR's son, Jaganmohan Reddy.

Rosaiah has been in power for less than a week. He was sworn in after YS R Reddy died in a helicopter crash. There is a proposal to allow Rosaiah to continue a little longer, induct Jagan as deputy chief minister under Rosaiah, and then promote him in a year or two after he gains more experience.

But there is this to consider. A Chief Minister from Coastal Andhra and a Deputy CM from Rayalseema could fuel the separatist Telangana movement that YSR managed to quell.

Since YSR died, there has been overwhelming and vocal local support for his son, Jaganmohan, a first-time MP.

Ministers like ARamnarayan Reddy will say this to anyone willing to listen: "We have only a one-point agenda before the Cabinet. To make Jagan the leader of the Congress Legislature Party."

Most of these ministers and MLAs were hand-picked by YSR. Support for Jagan is not an issue of loyalty alone, it also involves political survival.

But the Congress high command in Delhi worries that Jagan is young, raw and may not be able to fight factionalism within his party. The man currently in the hot seat, Rosiah, makes it clear that the final call will be made in Delhi.

"Everyone will have their own opinion. The Congress leadership, Sonia Gandhi, will decide based on many factors."