Y. S. Vijayamma

Yeduguri Sandinti Vijaylakshmi
వై.ఎస్.విజయలక్ష్మి
Personal details
Born 19 April 1956
Kadapa, Andhra State, India
(now in Andhra Pradesh, India)
Political party YSR Congress
Spouse(s) Y. S. Rajashekhara Reddy
Children Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy (son) and Y. S. Sharmila (daughter)
Residence Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Y. S. Vijaya Rajasekhara Reddy ( born 10 April 1956 ) is a home maker-turned Indian politician of the YSR Congress Party, She is the widow of Indian politician Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy, also popularly known as YSR, the late Chief Minister of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh.

Having served as a former MLA, she continues to be the Honorary President of the YSR Congress Party which now has a solid strength of 66 MLAs in the Andhra Pradesh assembly and 3 MLAs in Telangana assembly.

Early life

She was born to P.Ramanjula reddy and P.Tulasamma at a village called chimalavagula palli , tadipatri taluk. She was married to Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy who was then pursuing his medical career. The couple had two children, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy and Y. S. Sharmila.

Since the advent of her husband's political career, She is known to have stood as a rock in giving him moral support while he officiated many posts in the Congress Govts, the Congress party, and as the Leader of Opposition during the TDP rule. and later on, she continued to encourage YSR to take up several pro-farmer and pro-poor people decisions when he ruled the state as Chief Minister from 2004 to 2009. As a devout wife, she was seen mainly focusing on taking care of her family members as the hosting head of YSR family and was hardly seen in any public forums along with her husband.

Political Life

Y. S. Vijaya Rajasekhara Reddy, fondly called as Vijayamma by the masses, was forced onto the political landscape of united Andhra Pradesh to counter the vindictive politics practiced by the then ruling Congress party against her son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Vijayamma, who lost the LS election to Visakhapatnam seat in 2014 due to the Narendra Modi wave and the BJP-TDP alliance, was first elected to the AP assembly as a Congress candidate in the by-election held to Pulivendula constituency of YSR district in Dec 2009 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband. She read many political books, papers to understand the political situation at that time.

She was the only candidate who filed nomination papers for the by-poll as major opposition parties including TDP, BJP, the Left and LokSatta had decided not to contest the by-poll to facilitate her election unopposed as a mark of respect towards YSR. On Dec 5, 2009,she was declared elected unopposed in the by-poll.[1]

However, following the humiliation meted out to the YSR family by the Congress high command which provoked the family member Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, against Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to threaten him politically, Vijayamma quit the Congress party and assembly membership along with his son who also quit both the party and his MP seat on Nov 29, 2010.[2]

Vijayamma and her son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy were again elected to the assembly and Lok Sabha respectively in the by-elections held on May 8, 2011. Both of them fought the by-elections on behalf of the fledgling YSR Congress Party founded by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on March 12, 2011.[3]

In the by-polls to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly seats, Jagan Mohan Reddy and Vijayamma retained the seats respectively, but as YSRCP candidates with record majorities. While Jagan Mohan Reddy won the Kadapa seat with an all-time record majority of 543,053 votes, Vijayamma won the Pulivendula seat with a record margin of 85,191 votes.[4]

Later, by undertaking the poll campaign along with her daughter Smt. Y.S. Sharmila Reddy, Vijayamma guided the YSR Congress Party to an unprecedented victory in the June 2012 by-polls in which their party won 15 of the 18 assembly seats [5] for which the polls were held in the absence of her son Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

In the forefront of agitations for people

Vijayamma went on hunger strikes a number of times protesting on various anti- govt policies like power tariff hike,[6] the Government's reluctance to release funds towards fee reimbursement of college students [7] and the like. She participated in agitations on several occasions fighting on behalf of farmers and women and seeking justice on many an issue including Samaikyandha agitation with an indefinite fast demanding the Government of India to keep Andhra Pradesh united.[8]

References

  1. ↑ YSR widow elected unopposed
  2. ↑ Jaganmohan Reddy resigns from Congress
  3. ↑ Jagan formally launches YSR Congress
  4. ↑ Record-breaking win for Jagan in Kadapa election
  5. ↑ Andhra Pradesh by-election, 2012
  6. ↑ Vijayamma leads statewide protests
  7. ↑ Vijayamma calls off 2 day fees deeksha
  8. ↑ Vijayamma participates in Jantar Mantar dharna
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