YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy may have gone from playing badminton at Chandragul Central Jail to CBI custody, but the women of his family are going all out to make waves for him. Mother, sister, wife—they’re all out there generating sympathy, and votes, for Jagan as the make-or-break bypoll date of June 12 approaches.
Jagan’s mother and YSR Congress honorary president Vijaya Lakshmi—fondly called Vijayamma—was all set to take over the party campaign for the bypolls to 18 Assembly and one Lok Sabha seat in the runup to Jagan’s arrest on May 27. And she did, smoothly. The big surprise, however, is Sharmila, Jagan’s reclusive sister, who has joined her mother’s campaign. Adding to this considerable women-power is Jagan’s wife Bharati, who participated in the hunger-strike against Jagan’s arrest. Bharati was seen holding a Bible—a trademark habit of Vijayamma who is said to never to leave home without one.
It’s working. The Reddy women are drawing ecstatic responses from crowds; Sharmila is the star. For them and the YSR Congress, victory in the bypolls is a crucial step towards capturing Andhra.
Jagan, who had been expecting arrest, had made it clear that his mother would lead in his absence. Vijayamma is no politicial novice, but the surprise demagogue was the media-shy Sharmila, who launched a broadside against the CBI and the Congress party, accusing them of carrying out a witch-hunt.
