Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K Rosaiah is likely to be appointed caretaker chief minister and may also later succeed Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash.
Official sources said Rosaiah, the number two in the cabinet, will be the caretaker chief minister. The state cabinet may take a decision in this regard later in the day.
Rosaiah, a veteran leader who had been guiding the government on several matters during the last five years, may also be appointed as the next chief minister. However, a final decision will be taken by the Congress' central leadership.
A veteran of five decades in political life, 76-year-old Rosaiah was nominated to the state legislative council for the fourth time in 2009 and is the lone representative of the council in the cabinet.