YSR's shining moment; takes oath as Andhra CM

Hyderabad: Y S Rajasekhara Reddy of the Congress on Wednesday evening took oath as the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister for the second consecutive term.

Governor N D Tiwari administered the oath of office and secrecy at 6.32 pm (1832 hrs IST) as thousands of party leaders and workers from across the state attended the event at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in the heart of the city.

Clad in a white kurta and his trademark dhoti, Rajasekhara Reddy, 60, took oath in Telugu amid fireworks outside the stadium.

YSR, as he is popularly known, entered the record books as not just the first chief minister of the Congress to retain power in nearly three decades but also the only one to have completed a full term in the state.

After the swearing-in, Hindu, Christian and Muslim priests blessed YSR and prayed for his success and well-being.

Earlier, the audience gave him a warm welcome when he reached the venue with his family in an open-top jeep. He waved at the crowds as his supporters danced in gay abandon to the tunes of songs hailing him as a mass leader.

There were also fireworks when YSR, accompanied by his wife Vijayalakshmi and other family members, reached the venue. YSR's son Y. Jaganmohan Reddy, elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa, was also present.

Also present were Congress leaders including M Veerappa Moily, newly elected state legislators and MPs.

YSR, who prefers a public ceremony for taking oath like Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder N T Rama Rao, alone took the oath. He is likely to induct 24 ministers later this week.

YSR had taken oath as chief minister for the first time on May 14, 2004 at the same venue.

This time, the Congress won 156 of Andhra Pradesh's 294 seats and bagged 33 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats.

Earlier, the Governor invited YSR to form the government after a delegation of Congress leaders met him to convey YSR's election as leader of the party's newly elected legislators.

The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) met late Tuesday to unanimously elect YSR as the leader in the presence of the party's observer Veerappa Moily.