Kiran to continue as AP CM till alternative arrangements made

Hyderabad: Confusion over the status of the N. Kiran Kumar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh ended on Friday with the Governor asking him and the council of ministers to continue in office till alternative arrangements are made.

A Raj Bhavan press communiqué issued Friday – two days after Reddy tendered his resignation – said Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan has accepted it and asked him to continue in office till alternative arrangements are made.

"The Governor, while accepting the resignation with effect from 19-2-2014, requested Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy, and his colleagues in the Council of Ministers to continue in office till alternative arrangements are made," said the communiqué.

Reddy, 53, a pro-united AP leader, had quit from the post, party and as MLA in protest against the Congress' and Centre's decision to divide the state and the way the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill was dealt with in Parliament. Reports from Delhi suggested that Andhra Pradesh is heading for a spell of President's Rule with the Governor recommending imposition of central rule.

A section of the AP unit of the Congress is in favour of propping up an interim government, contending that their prospects in Seemandhra are bleak now in view of the party pushing ahead with the formation of Telangana, coupled with the anti-incumbency factor having been in office for ten years.

However, it's going to be a herculean task for the Congress to build a consensus on a successor to Kiran Reddy as the CLP is sharply divided along regional lines.

The term of the Assembly, which began on June 3, 2009, would end on June 2, 2014. The formation of Telangana state now awaits the formal nod of President with the Bill having been passed in both Houses of Parliament.