Finally,CLP meet to elect Rosaiah as its leader

Hyderabad, Nov 26 (INN): The much-awaited Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting has been convened at 2 pm on Friday to formally elect the Chief Minister, Mr K Rosaiah, as its leader.The party High Command has sent the message to this effect to the State unit and asked all the Congress legislators to be present at Hyderabad on Friday morning. The Union Minister for Law and AICC incharge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh,Mr Veerappa Moily and the Union Finance Minister,Mr Pranab Mukherjee, are coming as the central observers for the meeting that has been convened at the Assembly hall.Though the election of Mr Rosaiah as the CLP leader is a formality, the CLP is also expected to pay tributes to the former chief minister, the late Dr Rajasekhara Reddy, whose untimely death in a copter crash on September 2 catapulted Mr Rosaiah to the post of the Chief Minister. Ever since Mr Rosaiah has been appointed to the post by the central leadership of the party, the CLP did not meet to formally endorse his elevation.

Though party circles here attribute the delay in convening the CLP to various reasons including the recent devastating cyclone and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, the primary reason for postponing the meet was stated to be the Jagan factor.The Kadapa MP,Mr Jaganmohan Reddy, who enjoys a considerable clout in the CLP, has thrown his hat into the ring aspiring to the coveted post of the chief minister.The High Command, who wanted the smooth transition of power to Mr Rosaiah obviously did not want to buy any trouble and waited till the dust raised by Dr Rajasekhara Reddy’s death settled. Thus, it has felt that the time is now ripe and called for the Friday’s CLP meet.