india

Updated: Mar 15, 2019 15:43 IST

YS Vivekananda Reddy, former minister and uncle of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress (YSRC) president YS Jaganmohan Reddy, reportedly died of a cardiac arrest at his house in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district on Friday.

The local police registered a case of suspicious death following a complaint by Vivekananda Reddy’s personal assistant Krishna Reddy after the politician’s family raised doubts over his death, citing bleeding injuries on his head and temples.

He was 68 and is survived by wife YS Sowbagya and daughter Sunitha, who is a medical practitioner in the US.

Vivekananda Reddy died after returning home from an election campaign for the YSRC candidate S Raghurami Reddy in Mydukuru assembly constituency. He was found dead in the wash room by one of his domestic helps. He was living alone at his Pulivendula house and his wife was in the United States with her daughter and son-in-law.

The YSRC leader had undergone a surgery for heart ailments in the past.

Family members said he will be cremated according to Christian rituals after his wife and daughter reach Pulivendula.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on friday has ordered constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the death.

Vivekananda was elder brother of former Andra Pradesh chief minister and Jagan Reddy’s father late YS Rajasekhara Reddy. He served as the Lok Sabha member from Kadapa twice from 1999 to 2009 and another two terms as an MLA from Pulivendula (1989-94 and 1994-99) from the Congress in the undivided state.

Jaganmohan Reddy, who was scheduled to launch his party’s election campaign and announce the candidates’ list from his native Idupulapaya on Saturday, rushed to Pulivenduala. He was accompanied by his mother Vijayamma, wife Bharati and sister Sharmila to pay last respects to his uncle.

YSRC spokesperson Talasila Raghuram said the party is yet to decide on the postponement of Saturday’s schedule regarding release of candidates list.

Vivekananda stood by the Congress when Jagan Reddy broke ties with the grand old party, raising a banner of revolt against the Gandhi family in 2010. In return, he was rewarded with an MLC post and the agriculture ministry in the N Kiran Kumar Reddy government.

This led to a split in the YS family with Congress high command fielding Vivekananda against Vijayamma, his sister-in-law and Jagan’s mother in Pulivendula in the 2011 by-election only to suffer a humiliating defeat. The by-election was caused after Vijayamma resigned as an MLA according to the party’s decision.

Vivekananda Reddy later returned to Jagan’s party.