When Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y S Shamila announced her candidature from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday, the first point she made it clear that she was aware that it was not an easy decision and it would create a rift within the family of her father Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
When she making the announcement at her father’s samadhi at Idupulapaya, her mother Vijayalakshmi was not beside her. In fact, in all the earlier programmes of Sharmila, Vijayalakshmi was invariably present.
She had been there with Sharmila all along during the latter’s experiment in Telangana by launching YSR Telangana party.
She even addressed rallies along with Sharmila in different parts of Telangana and asked the people to bless her daughter.
But after Sharmila merged her party with the Congress and entered Andhra politics, Vijayamma was not to be seen with her.
Except at the engagement and wedding of Sharmila’s son Y S Raja Reddy, she was not visible at any of Sharmila’s political events.
Interestingly, Vijayamma, who was kept away from politics by Jagan after 2019, was present at Idupulapaya when her son kickstarted his campaign for the ongoing elections last month.
She conducted prayers and wished that the people would bless him with a second term.
But when Sharmila announced her candidature at the same Idupulapaya, Vijayamma stayed away from the programme. Maybe, she did not want to listen pungent comments against her son from her daughter.
This led to the talk that in the sibling rivalry, Vijayamma will be supporting her son and not her daughter.
This is being questioned by the TDP which is now asking whether Vijayamma would be endorsing Jagan’s stand on the murder of her brother-in-law Vivekananda Reddy.
“Sharmila is alleging that Jagan is protecting the killers of Viveka, whereas Jagan is defending the killers. Which side are you?” the TDP is asking Vijayamma.