Helicopter carrying chief minister disappears

       A helicopter carrying a powerful south Indian politician disappeared yesterday over an area held by Maoist rebels, triggering a huge land-and-air search, officials said.
       Indian air force aircraft joined the hunt for Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state,when his helicopter lost radio contact after it took off from the state capital Hyderabad, a military spokesman said.
       "Right now we can only pray," Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said in the national capital New Delhi.
       Police, backed by paramilitary troopers, were on their way to join the search for Mr Reddy's aircraft which was believed to have crashed, he said.
       Mr Reddy, who belongs to India's ruling Congress Party, had been leading a vigorous military campaign to smash strongholds of outlawed Maoist rebels who dominate wide swathes of coastal Andhra Pradesh.