YSR 'retires' at 60 as he wished earlier

Hyderabad, Sept 4: Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy wanted to retire at 60,when he was in opposition. But he has changed his mind after coming into power.

He used to advocate that a politician"s shelf life should end at 60. For, YSR had entered active politics at a relatively young age of 30 and even became a minister in the state cabinet. He missed several opportunities to become the CM of the state and that might have prompted him to moot the 'retirement at 60" plan for Congress veterans.

In fact, the party cadres too backed his retirement formula as the party high command used to 'impose" ageing leaders in state politics. “They simply wanted all those veteran leaders who clung to power to retire and allow their leader (YSR) to take over the reins," an analyst said.

It did not happen until 2004 polls when the party high command had no option but to name him as CM, in recognition of his herculean 1,400-km long padayatra in the mid-summer of 2003.

With the veterans taking a backseat, YSR emerged as the sole leader of the party in the state at the age of 55. He reached the self-imposed retirement age of 60 just after taking over the reins for the second time on May 20, 2009. “Yes, I wanted to retire from active politics at 60. But, it seems my followers are thinking otherwise," YSR had said.

Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy was 60 years and two months at the time of his untimely death.

OneIndia News