Lok Sabha polls: Congress fields YS Sharmila from Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa

The Congress on Tuesday released a new list of 17 candidates from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The party has fielded YS Sharmila, the sister of YSR Congress Party founder and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, from the state’s Kadapa constituency.

The seat is currently represented by Sharmila’s cousin Avinash Reddy from the YSR Congress Party.

On January 4, Sharmila joined the Congress and merged her outfit, the YSR Telangana Party, with the party. Subsequently, she was appointed chief of the party’s Andhra Pradesh unit.

Sharmila launched the YSR Telangana Party in June 2021 on the birth anniversary of her father and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. In November, the YSR Telangana Party announced unconditional support to the Congress for the state polls.

On Tuesday, the Congress also released two other lists, containing the names of 114 candidates for the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections and 49 names for Assembly polls in Odisha.

The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1. The results will be announced on June 4.