Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy (born 21 December 1972), also known as Y. S.

Jagan or mononymously Jagan, is an Indian politician serving as the current chief minister of
Andhra Pradesh. He is the founder and president of the Indian political party, YSR Congress
Party (YSRCP). He is also the son of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, former Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh.
Jagan Mohan Reddy started his political career in the Indian National Congress and was elected
as the Member of Parliament of Kadapa in 2009.[1] After his father's death due to helicopter
crash in 2009, he started Odarpu Yatra (a consoling tour) across the state.[2] He then eventually
came out of the Congress Party and established his own party, YSR Congress Party which also
matches his father's acronym, YSR.[3]
In 2014 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, YSRCP won 67 seats and he became
the Leader of the Opposition. [4] Five years later, in 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
elections, he led the party to a landslide victory in the state elections by winning 151 seats of the
total 175 assembly segments.[5]

Early life
Jagan Mohan Reddy was born in Christian Reddy family in Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district of
Andhra Pradesh to Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Y. S. Vijayamma.[6][7] Reddy has a younger
sister, Y. S. Sharmila, who is also a politician.[8]
He studied at The Hyderabad Public School up to 12th grade.[7] Tollywood actor Sumanth Kumar
Yarlagadda was his best friend at school.[9] He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree[6]
[7]
from Pragathi Mahavidyalaya Degree and PG college,[image 1] Ram Koti, Hyderabad.[10]
Reddy married Bharathi on 28 August 1996.[6][7] The couple has two daughters, the elder of whom
studied undergraduate in London.[6][7]

Business ventures
Reddy first acquired Sandur Power Company Limited (SPCL), a defunct power project from its
original promoter M B Ghorpade in 2001.[11] SPCL later invested crores of rupees in other
companies and could acquire more businesses. It is headed by his wife, Y. S. Bharathi. [12] Reddy
sold his shares in SPCL and moved away from his active direct businesses as he got more
involved in politics.[citation needed]

Political career
Reddy's father Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, was a two-time chief minister
of Andhra Pradesh, serving from 2004 to 2009. He started his political career campaigning
for Indian National Congress during the 2004 elections in Kadapa district.[13] In 2009, he was
elected as Member of Parliament from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency.[13]
Following the death of his father in September 2009, he started efforts to take up the political
legacy left by his father. The majority of the legislators favoured him to be appointed as the Chief
Minister, but this choice was not approved by party leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
Six months after his father's death, he began an odarpu yatra (condolence tour), as promised
earlier, to go and meet the families of those alleged to have either committed suicide or suffered
ill health on the news of his father's death. The Congress party's central leadership directed him
to call off his odarpu yatra, an order which he defied leading to a fallout between the high
command and himself. He went ahead with the yatra, stating that it was a personal matter.[14]

2010–2014: Founding of YSR Congress Party

Following the fallout with the Congress party high command, on 29 November 2010, he resigned
from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency and has also quit the party. His mother, Vijayamma, has
also resigned from Pulivendula Assembly constituency and has quit the party as well. [15] He
announced on 7 December 2010 from Pulivendula that he would be starting a new party within
45 days.[16] In March 2011, he announced that he would launch the new party, named YSR
Congress Party, at Jaggampeta, East Godavari district.[17] Later, his party went to by-polls in
Kadapa district and won almost all the seats with a huge majority.[18] Reddy, as the president of
YSR Congress, faced by-election from the Kadapa constituency and won by a large margin of
545,043 votes.[19] His mother has also won the Pulivendula Assembly constituency by 85,193
votes against Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy.[20]

2014–2019: Leader of opposition and Padayatra

In 2014, the YSR Congress Party was a pre-poll favourite among most analysts
and psephologists.[21] But, the YSRCP has lost the 2014 elections, winning only 67 of 175 seats in
the state assembly, with 45% of vote share.[22] The Telugu Desam Party vote share went up to
47% and the 2% gap led to the defeat of YSRCP.[21]
As a leader of the Opposition in Assembly and YSR Congress Party's president, Reddy launched
his 3,000-km-long walkathon named Praja Sankalpa Yatra, popularly called padayatra, on 6
November 2017 at Idupulapaya in Kadapa district.[23][24] YSR Congress party coined a slogan
"Raavali Jagan, Kaavali Jagan" (transl. Jagan should come. We want Jagan.) for the foot march
that took him across 125 Assembly segments all over the state in 430 days and ended on 9
January 2019.
Reddy while boarding a flight to Hyderabad was attacked with a cock fighting knife in the VIP
Lounge of Visakhapatnam Airport on 25 October 2018.[25] He received a lacerated injury on his
shoulder and had to undergo a surgery.[26]

2019–present: Chief Minister

In the 2019 National and State election held in April and May 2019, YSR Congress Party swept
the polls and won 151 of the total 175 assembly seats and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in
Andhra Pradesh. He took oath as the Chief Minister on 30 May 2019.[27] His chief ministership has
been marked by a slew of welfare schemes such as Jagananna Amma Vodi, Navaratnalu.
[28]
Jagananna Amma Vodi provides financial assistance for mothers or guardians from the Below
Poverty Line, to educate their children.[29][30] Navaratnalu is a collection of nine welfare schemes
covering farmers, women, medical and health, education and Special Category Status.[28] He
scrapped the plans for a new capital at Amaravati, proposed by the former TDP government, and
has proposed three different capitals for the judicial, administrative and legislative branches
at Kurnool, Amaravati and Visakhapatnam respectively.[31] The proposal resulted in
widespread protests by the farmers of Amaravati.[32] The Andhra Pradesh High Court in a March
2022 ruling directed the Government of Andhra Pradesh to continue developing Amaravati and
adjudicated that the government "lacked the competence to make any legislation for shifting,
bifurcating or trifurcating the capital