Hyderabad: YSR burst onto the national stage with his padyatra during the campaign for the 2004 assembly elections. Many saw him as the centerpiece of the Congress strategy against the all-powerful TDP.
YSR expanded his political empire from Andhra Pradesh's feudal Reddy heartland. He won 4 Lok Sabha and 4 Assembly elections from Kadappa. He was credited publicly and often with being a leader with a huge mass base, a rarity in the Congress party.
But his last term in office was marred by accusations of corruptions and scams. His son's media empire expanded rapidly under his father's watch. Critics of the YSR regime, like the powerful Eenadu media group, were severely dealt with. Even the Satyam scandal, it was alleged, had an YSR connection.
And when superstar Chiranjeevi decided to throw his weight into the last elections, many doubted what YSR would accomplish for the Congress. But in his campaign, YSR claimed he was a development man. He fought on the back of populist schemes: irrigation, pensions, schemes for women
The YSR magic worked, and his party's victory was seen as hard evidence of a grassroots politician whose charisma trounced the controversy surrounding him.