“I rejected Kadapa MP ticket offer,” YS Sharmila tells CBI

HYDERABAD: With the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioning YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) President YS Sharmila over the offer of contesting Kadapa Parliament seat, Sharmila said that she initially agreed to take up the offer but later backtracked on it.

A statement in this regard has been submitted to the CBI Court in Hyderabad. Sharmila has been named the 259th witness by the CBI in YS Vivekananda Reddy’s murder case. In her statement to the CBI on October 7, 2022 in New Delhi, Sharmila asserted that she didn't possess any concrete evidence, but believed that the murder was allegedly motivated for political reasons. She also denied any involvement in family or financial matters as the cause behind YS Vivekananda Reddy’s murder.

“A few months before his murder, YS Vivekananda Reddy came to my house in Bangalore and asked me to contest as Kadapa MP instead of YS Avinash Reddy. He had added that we would together approach YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and convince him to offer the ticket to me,” YS Sharmila stated. She also pointed out that the issue of the Kadapa MP could have been a potential subject of dispute.

The YSRTP Chief also said that YS Vivekananda Reddy had a change of mind and felt that she wouldn’t go against YS Jagan. “He spoke very confidently of convincing YS Jagan regarding the Kadapa MP seat. I initially refused his offer, knowing that YS Jagan wouldn’t support this plan. However, since my uncle kept nudging me, I agreed,” YS Sharmila said.

When the CBI questioned Sharmila as to why Vivekananda Reddy, who lost as MLC, didn't show interest in contesting as Kadapa MP, Sharmila said that he was disinterested in contesting for the Parliament seat after his loss. The YSRTP Chief also felt that the close associates of YS Vivekananda Reddy could have worked against him, leading to his loss in the MLC elections. She even mentioned that despite the family projecting a united front, there was an undercurrent of cold war.