Konijeti Rosaiah, 76, the man who succeeds Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, may have never dreamt of becoming the Chief Minister of the state that he has served for more than 40 years. Having lost his close friend and confidant of more than 30 years, he is now wearing a crown that has only left him alone and alienated.

As 34 ministers of the erstwhile Cabinet were being sworn in, Rosaiah was alone in the crowd, looking troubled and lost in thought. He knows that a majority of the ministers reluctantly agreed to be ministers in his Cabinet. He knows he cannot command their loyalty and respect like YSR, and they are simply obeying the Congress high command.

He had refused to contest the 2009 elections, saying he wanted to take a break and retire, but YSR nominated him to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council and also made him the Finance Minister.

Torn between instructions to take over as interim CM and the popular demand that YSR’s son Jaganmohan be given his father’s mantle, Rosaiah remarked immediately after taking oath on Thursday that he was only obeying the instructions of the party high command. “I am not in the race for the CM’s post. I do not want it. Jagan is young, is extremely popular and he has a huge following. I will abide by whatever the party says,” he said on Friday before YSR’s funeral.

Though he handled the crisis that the state was plunged into when YSR’s chopper was declared missing, he was already alone. As the Cabinet meeting started at 2 pm on Thursday on the fourth floor of the Secretariat to pass a condolence resolution, down below MPs, MLAs and Congress leaders were already demanding that Jaganmohan be made the next CM.

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