Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has been named as the most popular chief minister in the country, according to the latest India Today Mood of the Nation poll.
Dr Reddy, who won accolades for his pro-poor, particularly farmer-friendly administration, and brought many laurels to the state in different sectors, has been rated as best CM in the country by 79 percent of the people in his home state.
This is compared to 78 per cent of the people in West Bengal and in Gujarat rating their chief ministers — Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Narendra Modi respectively — as the best.
Dr Reddy was ranked 5th during the previous survey conducted in January. In the history of Andhra Pradesh, it was only Dr Reddy who could sustain the goodwill and continue to march ahead with his charisma and popularity among the people.
Surprisingly, now, only 30 percent of Keralites find the first time Marxist Chief Minister of Kerala, V S Achutanandan, who was in office for the last three months as worthy of being the best chief minister though he single handedly led the CPI-M to victory, winning an absolute majority.
The chief ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Delhi have fallen below the 50 per cent mark.
By Syed Amin Jafri
