'Attempt to reclaim legacy of late Rajasekhara Reddy': Congress fields YS Sharmila from Kadapa

The Congress on Tuesday declared a list of 17 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, fielding Andhra Pradesh unit chief Y S Sharmila from Kadapa. The party says Congress is the sole claimant of the legacy of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, and Sharmila  joining the Lok Sabha contest would mean that the Congress is a serious player in the national as well as the assembly polls.

New Delhi:The Congress on Tuesday tried to reclaim the legacy of its popular ex chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy and to convey a message of seriousness to the Andhra Pradesh voters by fielding a host of senior leaders for the Lok Sabha contest.

The most significant name in the list of five candidates announced by the Central Election Committee was that of Andhra Pradesh Congress chief YS Sharmila Reddy, who will contest from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, the stronghold of her late father YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

Among the other names include, former union minister MM Pallam Raju from Kakinada, special invitee to Congress Working Committee G Rudra Raju from Rajahmundry, AICC secretary organization JD Seelam from Bapatla reserved seat and PG Rampulliah Yadav from Kurnool seat.

“The Congress is the sole claimant of the legacy of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy in Andhra Pradesh. YS Sharmila is his daughter and is steering the state unit. She is a popular leader and her joining the Lok Sabha contest would mean that the Congress is a serious player in the national as well as the assembly polls,” AICC secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh CD Meyappan told ETV Bharat.

“The other candidates are also senior leaders and have experience of fighting polls,” he said. Besides the five names for Lok Sabha polls, the CEC also announced the list of 114 candidates for the assembly elections. Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 assembly seats. Elections for both will be held on May 13.

According to party insiders, the fight for the legacy of the former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy between his son and incumbent chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and daughter YS Sharmila Reddy was the reason why the Congress had inducted YS Sharmila Reddy in January this year. Sharmila had merged her YSRTP with the grand old party and was soon made the Andhra Pradesh Congress chief.

“Since taking over YS Sharmila has been working hard on the ground to project the Congress in the state,” said Meyappan. The main contest in Andhra Pradesh will be between the Congress, ruling YSRCP and the TDP which has a pact with the BJP.

“The government of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has done nothing in the past five years. Before him, the TDP government did nothing for five years. The people have seen both the parties and have no hopes from them. The biggest issue has been special category status to the state but the previous state governments and the BJP’s central government did nothing. We have promised that if we come to power at the Centre, Andhra Pradesh will be given special status immediately,” said Meyappan.

In Bihar, the CEC fielded former CWC member Tariq Anwar from Katihar seat, party MLA Ajeet Sharma from Bhagalpur and sitting MP Mohamed Jawed from Kishanganj seat. Tariq Anwar has represented the Katihar seat, a Congress stronghold, several times in the past. The CEC also announced 8 candidates from Odisha including sitting MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka from Koraput reserved seat and actor Manoj Misra from Bolangir seat.

In West Bengal, the CEC gave a ticket from Darjeeling seat to Munish Tamang who recently merged his outfit Bhartiya Gorkha Parisangh with the Congress.

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