Hyderabad:
In Andhra Pradesh, the demand for Y S R Reddy's son to officially be named his successor is getting louder and clearer. Ministers make it clear that K Rosaiah, the stop-gap chief minister, needs to make way soon for the real deal.
"He is an elderly person. He is holding the office as chief minister now. We will work together till a new leader is elected," clarifies A Ramanarayan Reddy, a minister in Rosaiah's Cabinet.
The murmurs of dissent had become so strong that the chief minister had to go on record to say, "All are working together with proper understanding. Absolutely there are no differences."
It's been eight days since YSR Reddy died in a helicopter crash with four others. The Andhra Congress had been hoping that the party's high command would allow it to meet this week and elect YSR's son, Jaganmohan Reddy, as its new chief. But that permission from Delhi hasn't arrived yet, leading to concerns that this is a sign that Rosaiah is here to stay. That option will not go down well with local Andhra ministers; some of them tell NDTV that they could resign in protest.
Congress sources say that another possibility is that Jagan Reddy may be offered a Union ministry by his party instead of being made chief minister. NDTV learns this, however, is unacceptable to the first-time MP.
So, while the Congress dithers over who replaces YSR, the concern among party members is that this could mean Advantage Chandrababu Naidu.
Now 'surveys' put Jagan on top:Within hours of news that YSR was no more, Telugu news channels were running SMS polls, suggesting upto 98 per cent of respondents want Jagan to become the Chief Minister. Posters asking for Jagan to be made CM appeared even before YSR's body was brought to his residence in Hyderabad.
The battle for and against Jagan Mohan Reddy is being fiercely fought at different levels. And it's happening not just in Hyderabad but in Delhi as well.
Two local private television channels and a Congress MP have commissioned a survey by agencies, all of which suggest an overwhelming public opinion in favour of Jagan Mohan Reddy as CM. The government has, however, distanced itself from the surveys.
"Surveys are done by independent agencies, who do of their own volition. It is not done under the command of the government or the party," said Sridhar Babu, Higer Education Minister in AP government.
Sources close to Jagan argue that the high command cannot afford to ignore the ground reality. They, however, do not have a Plan B if Sonia Gandhi refuses to endorse Jagan's candidature. But they are certain there will be chaos in the Congress and that would mean advantage Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh.