For whom the bells toll? YSR. And 124 others

IDUPULAPAYA (KADAPA): Thousands converged at the sprawling 300-acre Idupulapaya Estate here to bid farewell to YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the man whose immense popularity became manifest in his death. Ordinary peasants jostled with ministers and leaders here to get the last glimpse of the man whose rise was just as meteoric as his departure was dramatic.

There was Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, L K Advani, Rahul Gandhi and Shiela Dikshit among a galaxy of notables. Some made it through the throng to where YSR's coffin rested before it was lowered to his grave amidst chanting of prayers, while some others -- like Chandrababu Naidu and Chiranjeevi -- were held back by an unlikely jam of vehicles in this part of rural Andhra Pradesh.

The grief was palpable. YSR's wife Vijayalakshmi and daughter Sharmila wept inconsolably as the coffin was lowered, although son Jagan (37) was a picture of composure, acknowledging mourners with folded hands, his eyes lowered. The young man was bearing his loss with dignity. If anyone wanted to read his body language in the backdrop of a raging succession battle, in which he's a front-runner, they were free to do so. It was said that 148 out of the 155 Congress MLAs in the state have sworn their loyalty to Jagan.

The state-wide grief is said to be such that there was a rash of suicides and heart attacks after his death. Eight suicides were reported in the state since the news of YSR's death broke, and another 100 people are said to have died due to cardiac arrests, not being able to bear his sudden demise. Of these, five suicides were reported on Friday alone. People recalled the spate of suicides in Tamil Nadu in 1987 in the aftermath of MGR's death.

There was no official confirmation of the number of these deaths, though. The figures being bandied around were largely based on information from locals in villages where the deaths have occurred. Interestingly, the toll includes the names of 70 to 90-year-olds who, the locals said, died "due to shock".

Some suicides allegedly due to YSR's death have been listed. Like Anil, 27, who while watching YSR's funeral on TV, hanged himself at his Amberpet residence on Friday. Or T Bhumanna (55) who gulped down a bottle of pesticide in Adilabad as the funeral was underway, as did Nayudu Appa Rao (42) from Appapuram village in Guntur. Another Guntur local, Bacha Yogi Reddy (38), resident of Anjanapuram village, is said to have hanged himself for the same reason. Both victims were farmers.

District officers attributed several cardiac arrests in the last 24 hours to "shock and heart attack". Among them was also a 90-year-old woman, Patamma, with villagers saying the old lady was worried about her pension being impacted by YSR's death. Said political analyst S Simhardri, professor at Osmania University: "We don't know exactly if these (deaths) are for real. There may be a little bit of truth to them but then they could be attributing every death to YSR."

Analysts say that YSR's dramatic death and the media incessantly flashing images of his demise could have led to some impulsive reactions, but are doubtful if the CM's sudden end really trigerred a 100 heart attacks. It certainly did trigger a lot of chaos at YSR's estate during the funeral, which turned out to be an emotional if mismanaged event.

(With bureau reports from Hyderabad)