Thousands pay respects to dead Indian politician

HYDERABAD, India — Thousands of mourners lined the streets of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad Friday to pay their respects to their popular chief minister who was killed in a helicopter crash this week.

Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, 60, the head of southeastern Andhra Pradesh state, died along with four other men when his helicopter crashed in bad weather on Wednesday as he flew to visit drought-hit villages.

Indian newspapers published glowing tributes to the father-of-two who won landslide victories in 2004 and 2009 and is credited with turning his native state into a modern hub for computer software, outsourcing and biotechnology.

Wailing women, men and children with photographs of Reddy thronged the streets as his coffin was driven on the back of a truck to a stadium where it will be placed for public viewing.

The Times of India reported that the shock of his death had been too much for some after 10 people died of cardiac arrest on hearing of his accident on Thursday while another four had committed suicide.

Reddy was to be cremated during a state funeral later Friday, with Prime Minister Manmohan SinghManmohan Singh and the head of the ruling Congress party Sonia GandhiSonia Gandhi set to pay their respects at his residence in Hyderabad during the day.

"Andhra Pradesh has lost an outstanding leader and the country has lost an ideal chief minister who was a role model for other states," Singh said on Thursday.

The Congress party, for which Reddy was an important regional powerbroker, is swiftly working out a succession plan to elect a new chief minister once a seven-day mourning period is finished.

A majority of state leaders have passed a resolution to support Reddy's son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, but some leaders disagree and have said keeping the job in the family would be "undemocratic."