Hyderabad: Y.S. Vijayamma, the mother of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, has decided to quit his YSR Congress Party. She said she will now focus on helping her daughter Y.S. Sharmila strengthen her electoral prospects in neighbouring Telangana.
Vijayamma, the wife of former chief minister late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), had been with Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) since its inception in 2011, serving as its honorary president.
Announcing her decision Friday at YSRCP’s plenary (party meeting) in Guntur, Vijayamma said her decision was driven by her conscience, which told her that it is time to support Sharmila, who is “fighting alone” in Telangana and “going through a tough time”.
“Sharmila is fighting alone in Telangana and I feel she needs me. As a mother, and YSR’s wife, I have to support her. I was with Jagan when he was going through tough times and now my conscience is not letting me be at peace if I do not support Sharmila when she is fighting alone and going through tough times,” Vijayamma said.
Sharmila had launched her own party, the YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP), to take on K. Chandrashekar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in July last year, without her brother’s support.
An Andhra Pradesh government official had at the time hinted at possible “ideological differences” between the siblings over her suggestion to expand the YSRCP in Telangana, which Jagan was said to oppose.
Vijayamma said Friday it was obvious that the two would have a different stands on issues since both have their own political parties.
“People will accept me wherever I go as the wife of YSR, but there have been people who are defaming us and creating rumours about clashes within the family. In order to put to rest such criticism and strongly deny all such rumours, I have decided to quit the YSRCP. I hope all of you will forgive me,” the 66-year-old told supporters in Guntur Friday.
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Internal rift?
Sharmila, who was not inducted into her brother’s cabinet, has never contested any election, but was seen to have stood by Jagan throughout his political journey.
When Jagan was in jail in 2013 over charges of corruption, Sharmila held a padayatra in Andhra Pradesh to campaign for the party ahead of the 2014 assembly polls and received praise for holding the fort while her brother was away.
“When Jagan asked Sharmila to go on a padayatra, in those tough times (referring to his time in jail), Sharmila agreed and came to all of you like ‘Jagan’s arrow’,” Vijayamma said Friday.
Sharmila also campaigned for Jagan during the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly polls, which the YSRCP won with a thumping majority, defeating its primary rival, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
But after Sharmila announced her decision to launch her own party, political spectators said an internal rift within the YSRCP was inevitable. This, they added, was evident by a reduction in meetings between the two siblings, who often celebrated festivals together.
In September last year, when Vijayamma hosted a tribute meet in Hyderabad in honour of her late husband, Sharmila was in attendance but Jagan stayed away.
Refuting rumours of a rift within the family, Vijayamma said her decision was also influenced by the actions of “certain sections” trying to malign the family.
“There have been discussions and criticism by certain sections on how I can support two parties and be part of them at same time. I have never addressed these issues before. I am a mother of both and I supported both of them for their future,” she added.
‘God’s will’
Vijayamma said Telugu people are “YSR’s heartbeat”. “Our family shares great respect in society, we share great values and relations. Sharmila thought her brother should not have any inconvenience here in Andhra, as a daughter-in law of Telangana, Sharmila entered political fray there.”
She also pointed out how no one expected that her two children would have separate political parties in different states, but said that she accepts these circumstances as “God’s will”.
Vijayamma has contested on the YSRCP symbol twice.
In 2011, she contested and won the assembly bypoll from Pulivendula, a stronghold of the YSR family. But three years later, Vijayamma lost from Visakhapatnam in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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