knowledge has no horizons

“Andhra Pradesh has lost an outstanding leader and the country has lost an ideal Chief Minister who was a role model for other States”, this panegyric came as a condolence message from the Prime Minister over the unexpected and instantaneous demise of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. Rajasekara Reddy. Of course, he is worth the note.

Born in a Christian family in 1949 in Pulivendula, a small town in Kadappa district to middle-class parents, he might have never thought of ruling the state. His unquenchable interest in politics brought him into active politics at the premature age of 27, and two years later took him to the AP legislative assembly as a young member. Of course, he was quick to grow a man of the masses in his state. His charismatic figure took him easily to the people, and being a practitioner he was good at feeling the pulse of them.

His electoral history has never ever experienced a setback. His successive wins in the Lok Saba elections from Kadapa constituency for four times and in the assembly elections from his home constituency Pulivendula for continuously six times earned him a good name among the top congress partymen. Added laurels to his head as MLA and MP, he also served his state as a minister holding important portfolios as Rural Development, Medical Health and Education, and served the party at the behest of Indira Gandhi as the President of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee from 1983 to 1985 just at the age of 34 and from 1998 to 2000. Registered his name as the first man in AP legislative history to enjoy full five-year term as the Chief Minister, he took party to a good win both in the legislative and parliamentary elections, gaining 156 out of 294 to form government under his head with absolute majority in his state and contributing 33 out of 42 from his state to form UPA coalition government in the Centre, respectively. Indeed, Congress has reason to consider him the mascot of the party.

Reddy was a man of his words; his challenge of throwing TDP out of power got realized with a tremendous win for the Congress party, gaining 185 seats in the 2004 election. His long around 1,500-kilometre padayatra (journey by foot) through almost all parts of Andhra Pradesh made him acquainted with people and their grievances, longings and expectations, which, one could opine, formulated the governance of his first five-year term in office. The 2009 election came to him as a test to prove his competence, as he had to face new rivalry – apart from the already-existing one from the TDP – from the newly emerged party of Chiranjeevi, and he proved it with a win. He differed from his rival, Naidu, by turning his eyes on the villages and farmers and did a lot for the development of them, like free electricity supply, health insurance scheme and construction of houses for rural masses, and others. Andhra hoped yet to receive from him many, but to their dismal comes the demise of him.