YSR Congress leader Y.S.Vivekananda Reddy dead

Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), March 15 (IANS) YSR Congress party leader and former Andhra Pradesh Minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy died of cardiac arrest on Friday, his family said. He was 68.

Vivekananda, also a former Lok Sabha member, suffered cardiac arrest at his residence in Pulivendula town of Kadapa district.

He was the younger brother of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and uncle of YSR Congress party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.

He is survived by wife and a daughter.

He was elected from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency on Congress party ticket in 1999 and 2004. He was twice elected to Andhra Pradesh Assembly (1989, 1994) from Pulivendula, a family stronghold.

Vivekananda was also elected to Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council in 2009 and served as Agriculture Minister in Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet.

He remained loyal to Congress when Jaganmohan Reddy raised a banner of revolt against the party for not picking him as the successor of his father and Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy following his death in a helicopter crash in 2009.

Jagan Reddy had alleged that Congress tried to engineer split in the family by making Vivekananda a Minister. The young leader subsequently floated YSR Congress party.

Vivekananda contested 2011 bye-election to Pulivendula constituency against his sister-in-law and Jagan's mother Y.S. Vijayamma, who contested as YSR Congress candidate and won the seat with a huge majority.

Vivekananda later quit Congress party and joined YSR Congress. He lost elections to the Legislative Council in 2017.