Appoint or anoint

Arranging for a democratic succession amid an outpouring of grief is something Indians have had to do tragically often. It does not get any easier,though,nor is it ever likely to. For the Andhra Pradesh Congress,the problem is even worse: as is well-known,Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy over the past half-decade managed to dominate the AP Congress completely,earning an unusual amount of independence when it came to how party affairs and ticket-distribution were managed in his state. So how does one go about finding someone else for the job?

There appears to be a groundswell of support for the notion of immediately swearing in Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy,Rajasekhara Reddys son,currently the MP from Kadapa. This is not,in itself,surprising,and not just because of the emotional stress that the bereaved partymen are under; the younger Reddy has assiduously cultivated his fathers base,and a by-product of YSRs free hand in choosing MLA aspirants is that Andhras Congress Legislative Party CLP is more likely to think of the partys future in terms of loyalty to their late leader and to his vision. And,when it meets early next week,it might make that official. Is that best for the Congress in AP? Perhaps its too early to be sure; but,nevertheless,the Congresss central leadership will have to decide now how it stands. And,given that they have the privilege of more emotional distance from the tragedy,their take on whats best for the AP Congress might well be different from the CLPs take.

If so,they are faced with the most difficult of balancing acts. On the one hand,taking the long,dispassionate view is sometimes what leadership is supposed to mean. On the other,Congress success in AP came on the back of allowing its state unit to feel that Delhi wasnt looking over its shoulders all the time. Trying to interfere,even appearing to interfere in the selection of the CLP head,might undo the good work of years. When faced with dilemmas such as this,it is usually best to take refuge in transparency and sensible structures. The Congresss leadership or the All India Congress Committees observer,Veerappa Moily might want to state the case for perspective,and perhaps for an orderly,months-long transition,clearly. And then the CLP should be allowed to decide to ensure that neither are factions encouraged to form in the united party,nor is there resentment at an imposition from outside. Five years of governance depends on handling this transition well.