5 months ago
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The tragic decease of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar successful a level clang connected Wednesday (January 28, 2026) brought backmost memories of the unfortunate demise of the past Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy successful a chopper mishap — an lawsuit that dramatically changed the governmental scenery of the State successful 2009.
A Bell 430 twin-engine helicopter, which was successful cognition for 11 years and owned by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, took disconnected connected September 2, 2009, astatine 8.38 a.m., successful mostly wide upwind conditions from the city’s Begumpet Airport, which is incidentally hosting the ‘Wings India 2026’ aviation event, the largest civilian aviation amusement successful Asia. The clang killed not lone Reddy but 4 others comprising IAS serviceman P. Subramanyam (Principal Secretary to the CM), idiosyncratic information serviceman A.S.C. Wesley and 2 pilots — Group Captain S.K. Bhatia and co-pilot M.S. Reddy.
Bad weather
However, 45 minutes into the flight, the chopper encountered terrible upwind conditions owing to cumulonimbus clouds, zero visibility, and dense rain. It soon mislaid interaction with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and crashed into a hillock adjacent Pavuralagutta successful Kurnool district, portion of the Nallamala wood range.
It took astir 24 hours for rescue teams including the elite Greyhounds anti-Naxal unit and Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters to find the wreckage. Reddy’s decease was officially announced by past Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. Following his demise, the past A.P. Finance Minister K. Rosaiah took complaint arsenic caretaker Chief Minister and continued successful the station for a twelvemonth till helium was replaced by N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Political vacuum
The full State plunged into mourning, with leaders from nationalist and determination parties expressing their condolences. The Congress enactment was successful a authorities of daze and struggled to grip the governmental vacuum created by Reddy’s abrupt death.
Reddy, popularly known arsenic YSR, had astir single-handedly led the Congress to triumph successful 2004 aft a gruelling padayatra crossed the State and repeated the feat successful 2009, though with a reduced majority. Realising that the enactment had mislaid immoderate ground, helium prepared to motorboat Rachabanda, an interactive outreach programme to straight perceive people’s grievances, opening from Anuppalle successful Chittoor district.
Jagan’s revolt
Two important governmental developments unfolded successful the weeks pursuing YSR’s death. The archetypal was an indirect revolt by his son, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, past Kadapa MP, who openly challenged the Congress enactment to marque him Chief Minister. As galore arsenic 153 retired of 156 Congress MLAs reportedly signed a petition seeking Jaganmohan’s elevation. However, AICC president Sonia Gandhi refused to concede and alternatively deputed past Union Finance Minister and the party’s troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee to diffuse the situation.
Ultimately, Mr. Jaganmohan was forced to springiness up his claim. Within months, helium raised a full-fledged banner of revolt, discontinue the Congress, and formed the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). A twelvemonth later, helium resigned from the Lok Sabha, and his parent Y. S. Vijayamma resigned from Pulivendula Assembly seat. Over the adjacent 3 years, the YSRCP emerged arsenic a large governmental unit successful Andhra Pradesh.
Revival of TRS
Even arsenic the Congress grappled with interior turmoil, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) laminitis K. Chandrashekar Rao sensed an accidental to revive the long-standing Statehood agitation. He resumed the question primitively launched successful 2000 and began a fast-unto-death successful November 2009, hardly months aft YSR’s passing.
His agitation forced the UPA-II authorities to denote connected December 9, 2009, that it would initiate the process of creating a abstracted Telangana State.
The Congress present faced a treble setback: erosion of its basal successful coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, and mounting unit successful Telangana. The eventual bifurcation, nether the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, led to the instauration of Telangana and the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh.
Election aftermath
In the 2014 elections, the Congress faced a implicit wipe-out successful Andhra Pradesh, failing to triumph a azygous spot retired of 175 constituencies and losing deposits successful each but one. In Telangana, the Congress complacency helped the TRS signifier the archetypal Government with 63 seats leaving down Congress with conscionable 21 seats successful the location of 119. In Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won 102 seats, relegating the YSRCP to 67.
The untimely decease of YSR reshaped the governmental destiny of the Congress, created abstraction for the TRS to revive its fortunes, and paved the mode for Jaganmohan Reddy’s emergence arsenic a formidable unit successful Andhra Pradesh altering the governmental scenery of agreed Andhra Pradesh.
