The change in guard in Andhra Pradesh came without warning. Replacing chief minister K. Rosaiah with N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is an internal matter of the Congress, and other parties — allies or the Opposition — cannot entertain a position on this that can be deemed valid. There can be no denying, however, that the political and administrative actions of the new, fresh-faced, and relatively young chief minister will impact the course of life in the state. To that extent everyone can legitimately have a viewpoint on the change that has been effected. The principal reason is that the need to find a new leader was felt by the Congress high command in order to contain the simmering discontent within the state party set off by the factional moves of the greenhorn but disconcertingly ambitious party MP Jaganmohan Reddy, and not as a consequence of the normal run of politics and governance, or challenges posed by an Opposition in full cry.
This first-time MP has persisted in brazenly articulating his keenness to step into his stalwart late father’s shoes as chief minister, seizing on nothing but opportunism by seeking to raise a scare as regards the political legacy of YSR, the well-loved mass leader, who was tragically snatched away shortly after winning a second consecutive term as chief minister. He remained blind to the consideration that YSR’s legacy as a public figure belonged not to him but to the people of the state, and to his party. It did not by any means belong to a particular faction or group or section of society, or indeed his family. Any members of the family will need to prove themselves to be discerned as heirs in political terms. Automatic assertion as regards a line of succession — regardless of whether others desire this or not — will not do in a democratic world. Impervious to this, Jagan created as much trouble as he could for Mr Rosaiah, using his financial resources and by seeking to exploit tribalism. The outgoing chief minister is a good, hard-worked, elderly figure who perhaps found it a matter of some delicacy in being firm with his former chief minister’s young, self-indulgent, son who appeared to have lost his sense of proportion. It is to be seen how the new chief minister handles this question of internal politics within the Andhra Pradesh Congress. Not for a moment can he forget that this is the first charge on him. The best he might hope for is to sideline his party’s young bete noire without taking him on frontally.
Andhra Pradesh has seen the worst of times in the past year. It has been racked by a bruising agitation for the division of the state. With the Srikrishna Committee on Telangana due to tender its report next month, the incoming chief minister’s difficulties are likely to grow, not become less. The political climate has been rendered unsteady by spreading factionalism within the ruling party. The state’s finances appear to be in some disarray. The industrial sector has slowed down. Completion of irrigation schemes, including the controversial Polavaram project over the Godavari, is likely to pose a challenge. Financing some of the populist initiatives of YSR is likely to test Kiran Reddy’s acumen as an administrator. It needs to be said, however, that the chief minister has adequate political experience, including in a pivotal role as party manager inside the Assembly, and subsequently as Speaker. Although not possessing governmental experience, he can hope to get by if he is able to strike the right balance. That usually brings the administrative apparatus on line. Mr Rosaiah’s successor may take heart from the fact that anyone in his shoes is apt to have encountered the same set of difficulties as he.