Rosaiah may formally be elected CM today

Hyderabad: The much-awaited Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting will be held here today when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah is likely to be formally elected as the new leader.

Ruling party sources here said senior party leader and union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and general secretary in-charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh M. Veerappa Moily will attend the meeting as central observers.

The central leadership had been delaying the CLP meeting to avoid any conflict over the successor to Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash September 2.

With YSR's son and Kadapa MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy giving up his claim to the post of the chief minister, the central leadership has decided to convene the CLP meeting. Rosaiah, who took over as the chief minister September 3, is likely to be unanimously elected as the CLP leader.

Since Rosaiah, a veteran leader, is a member of the legislative council, the party is also likely to nominate a new leader in the assembly.

The decision to convene the CLP meeting was taken a day after the central leadership picked YSR's wife Vijayalakshmi as the party candidate for the byelection to Pulivendula assembly constituency in their native Kadapa district.

Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party suffered a setback in Hyderabad civic polls as it failed to secure majority in the 150-member body to capture the mayor's post.

The ruling party failed to live up to its expectations, bagging 52 seats in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) despite the fact that it had won as many as 14 out of 24 assembly seats the in GHMC limits in the April-May assembly elections.

It required at least 69 seats to grab the mayor's post. The Congress is now likely to enter into an agreement with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) for the indirect elections to mayor and deputy mayor.

MIM put up an impressive show winning 43 out of 70 seats it contested.

The main opposition Telugu Desam Party made significant inroads into the Congress bastion, especially on the outskirts, to win 45 seats.