So fierce was the internal fight of Congress that when communal riots broke out in Hyderabad in 1990 claiming more than 200 lives, then Chief Minister Channa Reddy blamed Rajasekhara Reddy for it, saying it was conspiracy to oust him from power.

At another time, he came under criticism after his supporters threw shoes at the Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy during a public meeting in Kadapa.

But finally it was YSR who was once again given the reigns of the party during the 1999 elections when the Congress increased it strength from 26 to 90. But power remained an elusive dream.

In 2003, the Congress fortunes took a dramatic turn with YSR taking an unusual step of going on a statewide 'Padyatra' under searing heat wave conditions. He walked more than 1600 km, creating yet another record of sorts, and interacted with thousands of people individually -- especially farmers suffering from drought conditions, debt burden and high power tariff.

The marathon walk earned him the nickname of 'Man of Masses' and in YSR's own words enabled him to understand the problems and sufferings of the poor and the farmers and the pathetic conditions in the rural areas. "It was during the Padyatra that the idea of supplying free electricity to the farmers came to me," he said.