VIJAYAWADA: Former Minister and TDP leader Yerneni Sita Devi died of a heart attack in Hyderabad on Monday. She was 74 and was survived by her two sons and a daughter.
Sita Devi hails from Koduru village in Kaikaluru mandal of Krishna district (now in Eluru district), and was a two-time MLA from Mudinepalli Assembly Constituency in Krishna district. The constituency ceased to exist after the 2009 delimitation. She served as a minister for higher education in the cabinet of NT Rama Rao. She was also the director of Vijaya Dairy.
Her husband, Yerneni Nagendranath, was AP Raithanga Samakya president and member of Krishna, Godavari, and Penna Delta drainage board. He spearheaded the movement to conserve Kolleru Lake. He passed away in October last year. Sita Devi’s brother-in-law Yerneni Raja Ramachandra was a former MLA from Kaikaluru.
The demise of Sita Devi was mourned by leaders from all political parties. Governor S Abdul Nazeer, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, BJP State chief Daggubati Purandeswari, YSRC farmer wing leader and AP State Agriculture Mission vice-chairman MVS Nagi Reddy condoled the bereaved family.