Two days before Andhra Pradesh votes in the state Assembly and Lok Sabha polls on May 13, YS Vijayamma, wife of deceased AP Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, appealed to voters in Kadapa to vote for her daughter YS Sharmila. Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh CM and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, is contesting as the MP candidate of the Congress in Kadapa against her cousin and incumbent YSRCP MP Avinash Reddy.
“I request all of you in Kadapa who have loved and respected my husband YSR to throw their support behind his daughter Sharmila so that she is given a chance to represent your interests and serve you as a Parliamentarian,” Vijayamma said.
Vijayamma had also supported YS Sharmila when the latter started the YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) in 2021. “I have stood behind my son in his political career. Now I am here to support my daughter,” she said back then.
The major electoral plank of Sharmila, who is also the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, has been the murder of former Kadapa MP YS Vivekananda Reddy. Incumbent MP Avinash is an accused in the assassination and is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
While Avinash and his father Bhaskar Reddy rally behind CM Jagan, Vijayamma and Vivekananda’s daughter Narreddy Sunitha Reddy have extended their support to Sharmila. The split in the Reddy clan has become a major talking point this election season with all eyes on the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency, a stronghold of the ruling YSRCP and CM Jagan.