Powering the Congress to a spectacular win in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections Andhra Pradesh, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who was sworn in on Wednesday as the Chief Minister for a second consecutive term, has emerged as an unassuming, crafty leader.

Overcoming a united opposition and anti-incumbency factor, YSR as he is popularly known, has romped home with ease winning for Congress 33 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats and bagging 156 seats in the 294-member AP assembly.

The only Congress chief minister of Andhra Pradesh to complete a full five-year term and also retain it, Reddy, 59, took charge of the state in 2004 at a difficult time for the party which had been out of power in the state for ten years.

It was a tough challenge for Reddy, the son of a mason in Kadapa district, but he has always thrived in difficult times.

After graduating in medicine and practising for a while, Reddy, groomed by a family deeply involved ion public service, began his political career with Congress in mid-1970s.

Having recognised his leadership qualities, the then Prime Minister and AICC president Indira Gandhi made him the chief of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee way back in 1982.

But Reddy quit Congress following a split and joined Reddy Congress in revolt against Indira Gandhi. After the Reddy Congress was disbanded, he returned to the parent party and went on to become the PCC president again in 1997 when Telugu Desam Party was going strong and his erstwhile party colleague N Chandrababu Naidu was calling the shots in the state.

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