Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president YS Sharmila will take on her cousin and sitting MP YS Avinash Reddy in Kadapa constituency.
YS Sharmila from Kadapa in LS Polls
Sharmila, sister of Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, will make her electoral debut from Kadapa, which has been the stronghold of the YSR family for nearly four decades.
Sharmila’s name figures in the list of five Lok Sabha candidates announced by the Congress party on Tuesday, April 2, for Andhra Pradesh.
Congress has decided to field former Minister MM Pallam Raju from Kakinada, former MLC Gidugu Rudra Raju from Rajahmundry, former MP JD Seelam from Bapatla, and PG Rampullaiah Yadav from Kurnool.
Sharmila continuing YSR Legacies
YSR family has been representing Kadapa Lok Sabha since 1989 when YSR was first elected from here. He retained the seats in 1991, 1996 and 1998.
When he moved to the Assembly in 1999, his brother Vivekananda Reddy was elected from Kadapa as the Congress candidate. Vivekananda Reddy retained the seat in 2004.
In 2009, YSR’s son Jagan Mohan Reddy made his electoral debut with a victory in the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat. After the death of his father and then Chief Minister YSR and subsequent developments in ruling Congress, he floated YSR Congress Party and retained the Kadapa seat with a record majority in 2011.
In 2014, Jagan started focusing on the Pulivendula Assembly seat, also a family stronghold and left the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat for cousin Avinash Reddy.
Recasts family feud into political battle
The Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh braces for a fierce contest as state Congress chief YS Sharmila is set to challenge her cousin and incumbent YSRCP MP YS Avinash Reddy.
Avinash Reddy is one of the accused in the murder case of former minister and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s uncle, Vivekananda Reddy, the younger brother of former chief minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy.
Sharmila’s decision to contest from Kadapa effectively means that the family feud will now evolve into a full-fledged political battle. After starting her political venture from Telangana politics, Sharmila merged her outfit, YSR Telangana Party, iinto the Congress and shifted base to Andhra Pradesh, where she was appointed as the state unit chief.
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