K Rosaiah's ill-health leads to speculation on his continuation as Andhra Pradesh CM

Ever since he has taken ill on August 31, speculation has been rife that Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah will soon be replaced.

The Rosaiah camp is, however, taking pains to assert that there is "absolutely no possibility" of the 77-year-old chief minister stepping down.

The name of Union minister for urban development S Jaipal Reddy has widely come into circulation as the possible replacement for Rosaiah, who is yet to recover fully from "viral fever".

The visit to New Delhi of state information minister J Geeta Reddy for a meeting with high command and the meeting of assembly speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy with AICC president Sonia Gandhi a couple of days ago have further fuelled the speculation.

Both Geeta Reddy, a woman leader from Telangana, and Kiran Kumar, a senior leader from Rayalaseema region, are considered in Congress circles here as contenders for the post of chief minister, or at least that of deputy chief minister.

Senior MP V Hanumantha Rao and Andhra Pradesh Congress
Committee spokesman N Tulasi Reddy, however, asserted that
"Rosaiah will continue to be the Chief Minister till 2014."

Jaipal Reddy himself brushed aside the talk saying it was "all speculation. 

"Please don't drag me into this," the Union minister pleaded at Mahbubnagar today.

Three state ministers -  Gade Venkata Reddy, Botsa Satyanarayana and P Ramachandra Reddy called on Jaipal Reddy
here late last night.  Jaipal Reddy, however, maintained that
it was only a "courtesy call" by the ministers since he had
come to Hyderabad.

Rumour mills went into overdrive on September 1 when Geeta Reddy was hurriedly called to New Delhi even as Rosaiah skipped Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's programmes in Chittoor district because of ill-health.

Though the state information minister went to the national capital to file nomination on behalf of Sonia Gandhi for the Congress president's post, everybody speculated that Geeta Reddy could be appointed the deputy chief minister.

There was anticipation that if not change of guard, the long-overdue expansion or reshuffle of the state council of ministers could be taken up immediately. 

Since social welfare minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose and Mines Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy openly defied the Congress high command's directive and took part in Kadapa
MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s controversial Odarpu Yatra, they
were supposed to be "dropped" from Rosaiah's cabinet.

Amidst the speculation, Rosaiah visited the state secretariat on three different occasions and spent about an hour each time in his office over the last ten days though he has not recovered from his illness.

He has also been holding brief review meetings with senior officials at the chief minister's camp office and at times at his residence itself.