Andhra CM's Killed in Helicopter Crash

A powerful Indian politician and four other people were killed when their helicopter crashed in the dense jungles of southern India during a pounding rainstorm, the government announced Thursday.

The helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh state Chief Minister Y.S.R. Reddy lost contact with air traffic controllers Wednesday morning as heavy rains pelted the region, setting off a frantic 24-hour search operation involving the army, air force and police in an area infested with Maoist rebels.

On Thursday morning, commandoes and police finally reached the site of the crash after hacking through the jungles and found the bodies of all five people who had been on the aircraft, including 60-year-old Reddy.

"We are in deep mourning. We have a deep sense of grief, shock and loss at the passing away of the chief minister, and a tall leader of the Congress Party," Home Minister P. Chidambaram said.

On Thursday, rescue teams crossing dense jungle and hilly terrain on foot reached the crash site on a hill five miles (eight kilometers) from the nearest village and about 170 miles (275 kilometers) south of the state capital, Hyderabad.

"It is not possible to say why it crashed," Chidambaram said.

The privately owned helicopter took off from Hyderabad and lost contact with air traffic controllers about 45 minutes into the flight.

Reddy, who was surveying drought conditions in some of the remote parts of the state, was accompanied by a bodyguard, an aide and two pilots.

Reddy, who belongs to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ruling Congress Party, won a second term in office in May elections.

A devout Christian in Hindu-majority India, Reddy worked his way into the Congress leadership over the past three decades by taking up the cause of poor farmers and landless laborers.

"This is a huge loss for the Congress Party," said Jayanti Natarajan, a Congress spokeswoman in New Delhi.

The rebels, who say they are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting for more than three decades in several Indian states, including Andhra Pradesh, demanding land and jobs for agricultural laborers and the poor.

While the militants have a great deal of power in parts of rural India, they have little day-to-day control outside of isolated forests and villages.

More than 6,500 people have been killed in the violence.

YSR: A doctor with a finger on the public puls A doctor by training, Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, or YSR as he was popularly known, was known for his strong administrative skills and whose second stint as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh this year broke a 53-year-old jinx for the Congress party. This May, he became the first Congress chief minister since the state was formed in 1956 to complete a full five-year term and retain power in elections. The only other chief minister who achieved the fate was NT Rama Rao of Telugu Desam Party (TDP). One of YSR's main achievements was subduing the ultra-left Naxalite insurgency in the state that had one time gripped 21 of its 23 districts. In the process, the People's War Group (PWG), once the dominant Maoist group in India, was crushed beyond recognition. When he took over as chief minister for the first time on May 14, 2004 from N Chandrababu Naidu of TDP, it was a dream came true for YSR. The leader from the badlands of Rayalaseema had come up the hard way in his public life spanning three decades and emerged as one of the strongest leaders the Congress has produced in the state. He has always been a winner. Elected to the state assembly for the fifth time, YSR is also a four-time Lok Sabha member and holds the record of never losing an election. More than once he proved why he was more popular among masses with his fingers on the public pulse. Popular as 'people's leader' among his followers, YSR tasted success despite facing a hostile poll campaign from both the TDP-led four party Grand Alliance and the Praja Rajyam Party of actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi. YSR also emerged as one of the few leaders in the country to retain power beating the anti-incumbency factor. What has made his performance more creditable is the fact that he made no big promises and instead highlighted his performance versus the "poor credibility record" of his main rival N Chandrababu Naidu of TDP. Banking on his performance and the numerous welfare schemes his government launched during the last five years, YSR retained power despite a three-cornered contest. The man who ran the Congress campaign on his shoulders emerged victorious in the face of hectic electioneering by top stars of the tinsel world in favour of TDP and Praja Rajyam. Born to a Christian middle class family at Pulivendula, a small town in Kadapa district, on July 8, 1949, YSR made a modest beginning. Eldest of the five sons of YS Raja Reddy, a dynamic local leader in his heydays, he evinced interests in politics while studying at MR Medical College, Gulbarga, Karnataka. After completing his MBBS, YSR served as medical officer at the Jammalamadugu Mission Hospital briefly. In 1973, he established a 70-bed charitable hospital. He entered active politics in 1978 and was elected to the state assembly from Pulivendula. He served as state minister from 1980 to 1983 and retained the assembly seat in 1983 even when NTR swept to power with a historic victory. Sensing a potential leader in him, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed YSR president of the state unit of Congress when he was only 34. In 1989, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa and held the seat till 1999, when he shifted again to state politics. From 1998 to 2000, he again served as president of the state Congress. Though the party lost the 1999 state elections, YSR emerged as the strongest leader of the party and became the leader of opposition. The year 2003 was a turning point in his political career as he undertook a 64-day padyatra, or walkathon, across the state. Covering 1,500 km under the scorching sun, he received petitions from people about their problems, mainly relating to agriculture and unemployment. It was this campaign and a strong anti-incumbency wave against Chandrababu Naidu's government which catapulted YSR to power. His experiences during the padyatra helped him shape his policies after assuming office as he gave free electricity to farmers, waived their loans, introduced several welfare schemes like pension for the aged, widows and handicapped, housing for poor, Rs2-a-kg rice, Rajiv Arogyasri or community health insurance scheme and a massive programme to build irrigation projects. Thanks to these initiatives, the Congress won 156 of Andhra Pradesh's 294 seats and bagged 33 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats this time. In a message on Independence Day on Aug 15, Reddy said: "The state has witnessed tremendous growth in the past five years when compared to the growth that took place since independence. Our people are a happier lot and are embracing a bright future without any fears."