Hundreds of vehicles followed the flower-bedecked truck in which the body, draped in the national flag, was kept.

Standing by the side of his father's body was his MP son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, who was appealing to people to allow the vehicle to move. Holding national flags, some ran towards the truck to have a closer look at the casket and console Jaganmohan Reddy.

In the rest of state, a silence fell with normal life coming to a crippling halt. Schools, colleges, offices, shops and businesses closed as a mark of respect to the leader, whose last rites will be performed in his native town Pulivendula in Kadapa district later Friday.

The usual morning bustle was missing as the government declared a two-day holiday -- Thursday and Friday. The state government has declared a seven-day mourning period. Cable TV operators took all entertainment channels off air.

Guntur, Ongole, Kurnool, Nizamabad, Nellore, Warangal... the situation was similar everywhere.

As the people and his family prepared for the funeral at Pulivendula, where YSR's body will be taken by air, the Congress began to grapple with who would fill the void.

Though Finance Minister K. Rosaiah has been acting chief minister, YSR's loyalists want his 36-year-old son to be made chief minister. Nearly half the 34-member cabinet backs the demand, saying this would be best tribute to YSR.

YSR's iron-like grip over the party ensured that he completed five years without any dissension. Within hours of his death, however, infighting had broken out over who would inherit his legacy.

The world of realpolitik had intervened, even before he could be interred.