New Delhi, Sep 3 - Cutting across party lines, political leaders Thursday mourned the death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, hailing him as a 'man of determination, dynamism, charisma and conviction'.

A pall of gloom descended on Congress headquarters in New Delhi as news of Reddy's death reached party members. The party flag flew at half mast.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also flew its flag at half mast at its headquarters here.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said she was 'deeply saddened' by the death of Reddy, whom she described as a 'leader of vision and dynamism'.

'The Congress is deeply saddened by the untimely death of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy,' Gandhi told reporters after a condolence meeting of the Congress Working Committee here.

Describing the chief minister's death as a 'personal loss', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said 'he died as he lived -- in the service of the people of Andhra Pradesh and the country.

'In his untimely passing away, the state of Andhra Pradesh has lost an outstanding leader, and the country has lost an ideal chief minister who was a role model for other states.'

Calling him a 'natural leader who was loved equally by the public, his colleagues and the common man', Manmohan Singh said 'the void his passing away has left behind will never be filled'.

Expressing deep shock and profound grief, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said the country had lost a towering personality. She called YSR -- as he was popularly known -- a 'charismatic mass leader who carved out for himself a niche in the political spectrum at the national as well as state level'.

YSR died in a helicopter crash Wednesday. His body, along with those of four other victims, was found Thursday.

Vice President Hamid Ansari also called YSR a charismatic leader.

Former Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee expressed his grief, saying that YSR was a hardworking, energetic and committed politician who was full of potential.

'With his death, Andhra Pradesh has lost a forward looking and progressive leader,' Vajpayee said.