Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president and candidate from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency Y.S. Sharmila on April 12 (Friday) said “the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) camp is in jitters as its candidate Y.S. Avinash Reddy’s role in former MP Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy’s murder case stands exposed.”
Addressing an election meeting at Simhadripuram in Pulivendula constituency, Ms. Sharmila said she had campaigned in Kadapa district merely for four days, and the ruling party was already contemplating replacing Mr. Avinash Reddy in the Kadapa Lok Sabha segment.
“Does this mean that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy believes that Mr. Avinash Reddy is involved in Vivekananda Reddy’s murder?” she asked.
Ms. Sharmila said this could mean many things — that the ruling party realised that people were with her, that Mr. Avinash Reddy was already on the back foot and the ruling party admitting that he was guilty.
Even if Mr. Avinash Reddy was replaced, the Chief Minister still owed an explanation to the people on why he had been protecting him since last five years.
Earlier, at Lingala mandal headquarters, a few YSRCP supporters tried to obstruct Ms. Sharmila’s campaign, leading to mild tension.
“These are clear signs of the fear of defeat among the followers of Mr. Avinash Reddy,” she said, adding that the Congress party flags were being removed from the venues where her meetings were scheduled to take place.
She said that in the past she did not have anything against Mr. Avinash Reddy, who was her cousin. “I campaigned in his support, urging people to vote for him because I was not aware of the facts then,” Ms. Sharmila said.
The murder case was not a family feud, it was part of the murder politics that paralysed lives in Kadapa constituency, she said.
“I have entered the election fray only to put an end to this murder politics and ensure peace prevails,” she said. “Give me your blessings and I’ll become your strength and make your voices heard in Parliament,” she promised.
Her cousin and Vivekananda Reddy’s daughter Narreddy Suneetha alleged that Mr. Avinash Reddy eliminated her father as he had realised that he would never be able to earn people’s love and support the way her father had. In Kadapa, the fight “is between truth and evil,” she said.
