According to Dr. Sanjaya Baru, media advisor to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once wrote that whenever the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Y.S.Rajashekhar Reddy visited Delhi, Manmohan Singh always used the same welcome line – “Welcome Dr. Reddy, we are here because you are there”.
Manmohan Singh was referring to the massive victory that Congress scored in the combined Andhra Pradesh under YSR’s guidance (34/42 seats in 2004 and 33/42 in 2009). While he was still the CM, YSR died in a helicopter accident in September 2009.
His son Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed that he would be made the Chief Minister. Sonia Gandhi was not in favor of doing so. Jagan split the party and left Congress. CBI then arrested Jagan for indulging in corruption when YSR was Chief Minister. Jagan became the leader of the opposition in 2014 and the Chief Minister in 2019.
Up until now, I haven’t told you anything that hasn’t been widely known (outside of AP, I mean). The lesser-known aspect, outside of the state, is the amazing palace intrigue of the YSR family that will put any TV series to shame! This article intends to bring out recent happenings in this family that cover murder, betrayal, religion, and of course politics!
YSR’s own brother – Y.S.Vivekananda Reddy
Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy was murdered in March 2019. On April 16, 2022 – the CBI arrested Y.S.Viveka’s cousin brother – Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy as the main conspirator behind this murder! Bhaskar Reddy’s son, Avinash Reddy is the current YSRCP MP from the Kadapa constituency. Kadapa constituency has been the traditional stronghold of the YSR family – YSR represented it from 1989 to 1999. Y.S. Viveka represented it from 1999 to 2009. Y.S. Jagan represented it from 2009 to 2014. For the first time, someone outside of the direct bloodline of YSR was announced as a candidate and he won both in 2014 and 2019 from the YSRCP party.
That MP, Y.S.Avinash Reddy, is also named by the CBI as the co-conspirator in the murder of YSR’s own brother. How come someone outside the direct bloodline of YSR was made to represent Kadapa in 2014 (and in 2019)? Enter Y.S. Jagan’s wife – Y.S. Bharati. Y.S. Bharati’s mother and Y.S.Avinash Reddy’s father are siblings!
What is the CBI case? That Mr. Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy conspired along with his son and hired goons to hack Y.S. Vivekananda to death. Bhaskar Reddy and his son worked towards defeating Viveka in the 2017 MLC elections. And that Y.S.Avinash Reddy was amongst the first at the scene and declared to the press that this was a death by heart attack!
Currently, the case still hasn’t been solved. Jagan, who was in opposition when the murder happened, demanded a CBI inquiry. After becoming CM, he strongly opposed it. Y.S. Viveka’s daughter had to approach the High Court to get a CBI inquiry done. She submitted a damning petition to the Court, on Jagan. All these years, Jagan routinely did an emotional drama in the Assembly with some filmy dialogues. With the damning CBI chargesheet out, it reflected very poorly on Jagan that he continues to shelter the very family that killed his own uncle. Will it have an electoral impact? Time will tell!
YSR’s daughter – Y.S.Sharmila
After Y.S.Jagan quit the Congress, he continued his yatra across the state. The yatra was titled Odarpu Yatra (Condolence Visits) – he claimed to be visiting the homes of the people who died unable to bear the news of YSR’s death! Jagan was arrested by the CBI in corruption cases, and that’s when his sister Y.S. Sharmila entered the fray! She continued to walk in this yatra (walked ~3000 km over 10 months in 2012-13) and deliver political speeches for the entire duration that Jagan was in jail. Though she campaigned in both, she didn’t contest the 2014 and 2019 elections.
Suddenly in early 2021, Sharmila announced that she has had huge differences with Jagan and is not on talking terms with him anymore. In leaked reports and in a detailed interview, we got to know some details of the unsavory arguments that happened between Jagan and Sharmila. She announced the setting up of a new party in Telangana – the YSRTP. She yet again walked 3000 km in Telangana but her party remained a dud. She eventually merged it with the Congress party, and is now appointed as the President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress.
As soon as she was appointed, the loyal soldiers of Y.S.Jagan started attacking her with fierce language on social media. This led to a furious Sharmila spilling more beans about their feud – which further led to Jagan’s portrayal in a very bad light. She also claimed that she has a 50% share in the family newspaper and channel – Sakshi. All along, people assumed that this was fully owned by Jagan himself. Though Sharmila’s appointment will not revive a dead Congress in the state, her utterances in response to the attack from Jagan’s party are bound to help the opposition TDP-Jana Sena combine. Jagan’s image of being a caring human has already taken a beating with the CBI case on the murder of his uncle. With his sister now revealing hitherto unheard titbits, the elections just heated up more!
YSR’s wife – Y.S.Vijayamma
Though not a politician, she was the one who contested the Pulivendula MLA seat that YSR represented. Along with her daughter, Sharmila, she was instrumental in the YSRCP winning 15 out of 18 by-poll seats in June 2012, when Jagan was in jail. Jagan made her the Honorary President of YSRCP. However, when the feud between her son and daughter happened, she took the side of her daughter Sharmila. She resigned from the post of Honorary President of YSRCP and moved her base to stay close to her daughter Y.S. Sharmila. She resigned at a public meeting of the YSRCP cadre and the cold vibes with which Jagan handled the entire situation were there for everyone to see. The entire family recently met for the engagement of Sharmila’s son and the cold vibes at the group picture became the talk of the media for a full day!
Where does all of this leave Y.S.Jagan?
For the Sankranthi festival, Y.S.Jagan spent nearly 1.5 crores worth of public money to build a temple set in his house. He had to do this because his wife, Y.S. Bharati, does not go to temples (In case you folks didn’t know – the entire family is practicing staunch Christians). This led to a political slugfest on how he is splurging money for erecting sets at his home just to accommodate his wife’s wishes. Y.S. Bharati is also his business partner in almost all of his businesses (Bharati Cements is named after her. Jagati publications, which runs the family newspaper & channel, is a word combination of Jagan and Bharati…and so on!)
In the 2019 elections, YSRCP had continuously campaigned that Chandrababu Naidu had backstabbed his father-in-law, NTR. In contrast, Y.S.Jagan was portrayed as this loving son, doting brother, and all that. That image lies shattered now. Jagan is just 52 years of age, so he will continue to play a prominent role in the politics of AP at least for 2 more decades. The family intrigue only promises to become more intriguing!