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For the last 46 years, the Yeduguru Sandinti or YS clan has held sway over the Pulivendula Assembly constituency, and its grip has not loosened yet; the constituency continues to be considered synonymous with its first family.
The opposing Telegu Desam Party, however, is hoping that this year’s Assembly election, to be held on May 13, will be different. Taking the fight right to the YS family’s doorstep, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has coined the slogan, ‘Why not Pulivendula?’, which appears to have caught the attention of the electorate.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is seeking re-election from Pulivendula for the third time. However, he is not just pitched against the TDP’s Mareddy Ravindranath Reddy (also known as ‘B.Tech’ Ravi), but is also embroiled in a family war: his own sister Y.S. Sharmila, who is contesting the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat as the Congress candidate, is taking every opportunity to hit her brother on all fronts and increase the anti-incumbency factor against him by effectively marshalling the Congress’ MLA candidates.
Convoluted family legacy
The warring siblings’ father, the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, universally known as YSR, won the Pulivendula Assembly seat three times, in 1978, 1983, and 1985. His brother Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy won the seat in 1989 and 1994. YSR’s paternal uncle Y.S. Purushothama Reddy also held the seat briefly after a 1991 by-election.
YSR once again won the seat in 1999, 2004, and 2009, keeping his grip on the constituency till his untimely death in a helicopter crash just six months after being sworn in for his second consecutive term as the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2009.
In the byelections held in 2010 and 2011, YSR’s wife Y.S. Vijayamma sailed through comfortably, first on a Congress ticket and then as the candidate of the newly-floated YSR Congress Party. Continuing the family’s winning streak, their son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the current CM and the founder of YSRCP, romped home in 2014 and 2019. He is contesting once again in their home turf in 2024, aiming at a ‘hat-trick’.
For a long time, YSR had been a household name in Pulivendula, and a shoo-in for elections, with people becoming accustomed to knocking on his door for any kind of support. Whenever YSR had to stay in Hyderabad or New Delhi on official assignments, his brother ‘Viveka’ stepped up, becoming YSR’s ‘‘voice and ears’.
YSR’s demise came as a shock not only for his family, but also for his constituents. It was then that Viveka stepped into his brother’s shoes to set things right, both on the political as well as family fronts. However, his brutal murder in 2019, nearly ten years after YSR’s death, led to the undoing of all his efforts to keep the family cobbled up, further widening their rifts.
The TDP, which has failed to make significant inroads into YSR’s citadel over the last four decades, believes it has the support of 30,000 votes intact. TDP candidate Mr. S.V. Satish Kumar Reddy had contested against YSR in 2004 and 2009 and tasted defeat. He later fought against Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy in 2014 and 2019, but get defeated again.
Triangular contest
In a 2011 by-election, the TDP pitted Mr. Ravindranath Reddy against Y.S. Vijayamma of the YSR Congress and Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy of the Congress. In the first major triangular contest witnessed by Pulivendula, ‘B.Tech’ Ravi scored just 11,239 votes, a steep fall from the 34,875 polled by the then-TDP candidate Satish Kumar Reddy in 2009. Viveka could only garner a little over 28.000 votes.
This time, Mr. Ravindranath Reddy is determined to breach what is being dubbed as the YSR family fort. Having been named as the TDP candidate more than a year back, he has been actively campaigning in every nook and corner of the constituency. Last year, the TDP also opened its office in Pulivendula. After YSR’s doorstep, the TDP office became another go-to address for Pulivendula constituents seeking redressal of their grievances.
To counter B.Tech Ravi’s emergence as a strong contender, the CM has strategically brought his predecessor Satish Kumar Reddy into the YSRCP fold, in an apparent bid to loosen the TDP’s growing propsects. Y.S. Sharmila Reddy, who is going hammer and tongs against her brother, has also fielded M. Dhruva Kumar Reddy there as the Congress candidate.
She and Viveka’s daughter Suneetha Narreddy, are leaving no stone unturned to blame the ruling party — including their own brother, and cousin Y.S. Avinash Reddy; the YSRCP’s MP candidate from Kadapa —, for allegedly having a hand in Viveka’s murder.
To make this more interesting, Shaik Dastagiri, an accused turned approver in the Viveka murder case has also been fielded in this seat by the Jaibhimrao Bharat Party.
The CM, however, considers his seat impenetrable. The constituency was established in 1955 and includes the Pulivendula, Lingala, Thondur, Vempalle, Vemula, Chakrayapet, and Simhadripuram mandals. Once known for factional violence, the region has embraced reformation. From being known as the most arid region in the Rayalaseema heartland, the constituency now boasts of a well-networked grid of water bodies, giving it the potential to become a ‘horticultural hub’. The farmers here depend on sweet lime, banana, and mango trees.
