By IANS,
Hyderabad : Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Wednesday assumed office as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for the second consecutive term.
YSR, as he is popularly known, reached the state secretariat, and formally took charge in the chief minister’s office by signing a file.
Thirteen days after he took oath as the chief minister, the 60-year-old leader reached his office to a rousing reception by his cabinet colleagues, chief secretary Ramakanth Reddy and the secretariat employees.
Hindu, Christian and Muslim priests blessed the chief minister in his office and prayed for his good health and success.
Though YSR took oath at a public function May 20, he had been attending to his official work from his camp office in Begumpet.
A week after taking the oath, he along with his family members visited Israel on a five-day pilgrimage to Christian holy places and offered thanksgiving prayers for his Congress party’s victory in the April elections.
YSR became the first Congress chief minister in three decades to retain power.
The Congress party won 156 seats in 294-member assembly and also bagged 33 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.