Yeduguri Sandinti Vijayalakshmi (born 19 April 1956), better known as Y. S. Vijayamma, is an Indian politician from the Rayalaseema region of Andhra pradesh. She served as an MLA representing

Pulivendla Pulivendula is a town located in the YSR Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a small town which became 3rd grade municipality in 2008 from nagar Panchayat. It is located in Pulivendula mandal and is the headquarters of the Puliv ...

constituency. She was the chairperson of the

YSR Congress Party The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (, YSRCP or YCP), often shortened to simply the YSR Congress Party, is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The party was initially registere ...

as previously 2011 to 2022. Her husband, Y. S. Rajashekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, served as the 14th Chief Minister of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. Her son Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, is the 17th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Her daughter, Y. S. Sharmila is a politician from the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

Early life

She was born to Pochamreddy Ramanjula Reddy and Tulasamma in the village of Chimalavagula Palli, Tadipatri Taluk. She married

Reddy Reddy (also Hunterian transliteration, transliterated as Reddi or Raddi; also known as Reddiar or Reddappa) is a Telugu people, Telugu Hindu Caste system in India, caste predominantly found in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in Sou ...

while he pursued his medical career. The couple has two children, Jaganmohan Reddy and Sharmila.

Family tree

Career

She was elected to the

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly ( Telugu: ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ శాసన సభ, ISO: ''Āndhra Pradēś Śāsana Sabha'') is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state, Andhra Pradesh. ...

as an unopposed

candidate in the by-election held to Pulivendula constituency in December 2009 to fill the vacancy caused by her husband's death. She lost the LS election for Visakhapatnam seat in 2014. The humiliation meted out to the YSR family by the Congress high command provoked the family member Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy, against Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to threaten him politically. YS Vijaya quit the Congress party and assembly membership along with her son who also quit both the party and his MP seat on 29 November 2010. Vijayalakshmi and her son Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy were again elected to the assembly and Lok Sabha respectively in the by-elections held on 8 May 2011. Both of them fought the by-elections on behalf of the fledgling YSR Congress Party founded by her son on 12 March 2011. In the by-polls to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly seats, Jagan Mohan Reddy and Vijayalakshmi retained the seats respectively, but as YSRCP candidates with record majorities. Jagan Mohan Reddy won the Kadapa seat with an all-time record majority of 543,053 votes, while YS Vijaya won the Pulivendula seat with a record margin of 85,191 votes. Later, by undertaking the poll campaign along with her daughter Y. S. Sharmila Reddy, YS Vijaya 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 for which the polls were held in the absence of her son Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Political agitation

Vijayalakshmi went on repeated hunger strikes, protesting various policies such as a power tariff hike and the Government's reluctance to release funds towards fee reimbursement of college students. She participated in agitations on several occasions fighting on behalf of farmers and women and seeking justice on many an issue including Samaikyandhra agitation with an indefinite fast demanding the Government of India to keep Andhra Pradesh united.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vijayamma, Y. S. Andhra Pradesh MLAs 2009–2014 Women members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Living people People from Kadapa district YSR Congress Party politicians 1956 births 21st-century Indian women politicians Church of South India Indian Christians