Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y S Sharmila, for the first time, will enter the electoral battle from Kadapa parliamentary constituency in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be held on May 13, according to the list released by the All-India Congress Committee.

Sharmila, sister of YSR Congress Party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, figures in the list of five Lok Sabha candidates and 114 assembly candidates released on Tuesday.

The list was disclosed to the reporters by Sharmila, after paying tributes to her father late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy at his samadhi at Idupulapaya estate in Kadapa district.

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Former APCC president Gidugu Rudra Raju will be contesting from Rajahmundry parliamentary constituency against Bharatiya Janata Party state unit president Daggubati Purandeshwari. Former Union minister M M Pallam Raju will contest from Kakinada LS seat, another former union minister J D Seelam from Bapatla and senior leader Ram Pullaiah Yadav from Kurnool.

Prominent among the contestants for the assembly seats are: former PCC chief Sake Sailajanath from Singanamala, sitting MLAs Vunnamatla Eliza from Chintalapudi and Thoguru Arthur from Nandikotkur and ex-MLA Shaik Mastan Vali from Guntur (West).

Among all, Sharmila’s electoral debut from Kadapa is keenly watched as she will be fighting against the party headed by her own brother and taking on her own cousin Y S Avinash Reddy, who was charge-sheeted in the murder of her uncle Y S Vivekananda Reddy in March 2019.

Kadapa has been the bastion of the YSR family since 1989. It was represented by YSR thrice in 1989, 1991 and 1998 and later by Vivekananda Reddy twice in 1999 and 2004. In 2009, Jagan was elected MP from Kadapa and he won the seat again in the by-elections held in 2012. For the last two terms – 2014 and 2019, Avinash Reddy has been representing the constituency.

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Speaking to reporters, Sharmila said it was not an easy decision for her to contest from Kadapa, as she was aware it would create a split within her family and confusion among the followers of her father late YSR.

“But I was compelled to take a decision, as my own brother Jagan Mohan Reddy was responsible for the rift within the family. After becoming the chief minister, he was a completely changed man. He encouraged murder politics in the state and gave the party ticket to Avinash Reddy, who was accused in the murder of Vivekananda Reddy,” she said.

Sharmila reiterated that the accused were able to move freely without any punishment despite having all the evidence against them, only because Jagan is shielding them. “It took me a lot of time to realise that Jagan had used the murder of Vivekananda Reddy for his political gains. I could not tolerate Jagan giving the party ticket to Avinash Reddy from Kadapa,” she said.

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The PCC chief recalled that Vivekananda Reddy’s last wish was to see her as an MP from Kadapa. “I did not take it seriously then, but now I understand why he wanted me to become an MP. I have now decided to contest the elections only to prevent a murder accused from becoming an MP again,” she added.

Meanwhile, without taking Sharmila’s name, Jagan Mohan Reddy said all the wolves are joining hands to take on a lion, which is fighting alone in the coming elections. “Your son is waging a lone battle. I am not afraid and I alone will be the answer to all these gangsters,” he said, while addressing a rally at Madanapalle in Chittoor district on Tuesday.