Know your MLA: Prashanthi Reddy puts an end to 40 yrs of family rule

Nellore : Kovuru TDP MLA Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy has ended a 40-year-long reign of the Nallapareddy family by defeating the incumbent YSRCP MLA Nallapareddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy in the recent elections.

Marking her political debut, Prashanthi Reddy’s victory is particularly significant as she unseated a veteran politician. Nallapareddy Prasanna Kumar Reddy had secured the Kovuru Assembly seat six times in elections held in 1992 (byelection), 1994, 1999, 2009, 2012 (byelection) and 2019. Prashanthi Reddy’s win came with a significant margin of 54,583 votes against the seasoned politician.

She has also made history as the first woman to be elected from the traditionally male-dominated Kovuru constituency since its inception in 1952. Born in 1965 in Tirupati, Prashanthi comes from a middle-class family. She completed her Intermediate studies at Sri Padmavati Junior College in Tirupati in 1982. Before her marriage to the current Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakara Reddy, she was involved in a small sari business. According to her affidavit to the Election Commission, her current net income is Rs 2.3 crore.

Initially, there were plans for her to contest from Nellore city under the YSRCP banner. But after her husband and Rajya Sabha MP Vemireddy Prabhakara Reddy left YSRCP due to differences with then CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and joined TDP, Prashanthi followed suit. Her husband contested as MP from Nellore parliamentary constituency on behalf of TDP and emerged victorious.

Despite her close ties to the Nallapareddy family, Prashanthi accepted TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu’s directive to contest from Kovuru which was considered as a strategic move to challenge the long-standing dominance of the Nallapareddy family.

During her campaign, Prashanthi received overwhelming support from the public, who were dissatisfied with the then government’s policies and increasingly critical of Prasanna Kumar Reddy. The campaign took an unexpected turn when derogatory remarks by Prasanna Kumar Reddy against her backfired, further bolstering Prashanthi’s support base and making her victory seem almost effortless.