Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, who recently resigned as an MLA representing Mangalagiri and also from the ruling party YSRCP, said on Saturday, December 30, that his political future is tied to YS Sharmila, sister of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Ramakrishna Reddy, who was elected from Mangalagiri constituency in 2019, said that his political journey will be with Sharmila.
His statement came amid rumours that Sharmila may merge her YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) with the Congress and campaign before the upcoming Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. Stating that he remained a follower of late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy (Jagan and Sharmila’s father), Ramakrishna Reddy said he couldn’t leave the family.
He is the first MLA in Andhra Pradesh to come out in support of Sharmila amid rumours that she may merge YSRTP with the Congress and play an active role in Andhra Pradesh politics. Sharmila, who founded the YSRTP in 2021, stayed away from recently held Assembly elections in Telangana, saying she wanted to avoid division of anti-incumbency votes.
Ramakrishna Reddy had resigned from YSRCP after indications that the party may not field him in the coming Assembly elections. He had defeated Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh in the 2019 elections from Mangalagiri, which covers the Amaravati capital region. He had also filed innumerable cases against the then TDP government about the Amaravati lands issue.
He said in 2019, people defeated TDP as it failed to perform, and suggested that YSRCP may face a similar situation in the 2024 elections.