YSR sworn in as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister for second term

Hyderabad, May 20 (ANI): Dr. Yaduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, was sworn-in as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister for the second consecutive term at the sprawling Lal Bahadur Stadium here on Wednesday.

Governor N D Tiwari administered the oath of office and secrecy to Dr. Reddy at a grand ceremony that witnessed a convergence of a sea of humanity at the stadium. oday's swearing in held significance for the Congress Party, as in Andhra Pradesh the party has created a record of sorts by retaining power for a second consecutive term; the first time in three decades and by also contributing a major chunk of Lok Sabha seats for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Besides securing a comfortable majority with 157 seats in the 294-member State Assembly, the party also went beyond all expectations by winning 33 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress had not won a second successive term since N.T. Rama Rao launched Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in early 1980s.

This time it was not an easy election for YSR as the TDP went all out to return to power, taking a U-turn to back the demand for a separate Telangana and promising a free colour television and cash doles of Rs.1,000 to Rs.2,000 per month for every family.

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

Today, YSR became the only one chief minister to have completed a full term in Andhra Pradesh. (ANI)