Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pamula Pushpa Sreevani gave birth to a baby girl at a hospital, becoming the first Deputy Chief Minister in the country to have a child while in office. Sreevani, who is 34 years old, holds the tribal welfare portfolio in YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Cabinet. She was greeted by the CM, her ministerial colleagues and leaders of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
This is the first child for Sreevani, one of the youngest deputy CMs in the country, and her husband Sathrucharla Parikshith Raju.
When YSRCP came to power in 2019, Jagan Mohan Reddy picked Sreevani as one of the five deputy CMs. She is the youngest minister in Jagan cabinet.
The tribal leader represents Kurupam (ST) constituency in Vizianagaram district for a second consecutive term. In the 2019 election, she defeated her nearest rival Narasimha Priya Thatraj of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) by over 26,000 votes.
Belonging to Doramamidi village of Buttayagudem mandal in West Godavari district, she was a teacher by profession before taking a plunge into politics. After marriage with Sathrucharla Parikshith Raju in 2014, she shifted to Vizianagaram district.
The marriage was held a few days before Sreevani contested the 2014 election. She was 26 when she was first elected to Andhra Pradesh Assembly from Kurupam.
Sreevani had earlier hit the headlines for working in a Telugu movie to highlight the importance of natural farming. She played the role of a teacher in the movie titled 'Amrutha Bhoomi'.
She had also posted a video on TikTok, performing for the Telugu song 'Rayalaseema muddubidda mana Jagan Anna' in the background. The video had gone viral on social media.
This song was made praising Jagan after he became the CM in 2019, hailing him as the son of Rayalaseema, the region he hails from. Though Sreevani belongs to north coastal Andhra, she posted her video with the song, praising him for development of Rayalaseema. The TikTok video was posted amid a row over Jagan's three-capital proposal, which angered farmers in the present capital Amaravati.