Why Jagan Reddy is objecting to niece's wedding at Bengaluru family mansion

As the Jagan Reddy-sister Sharmila estrangement takes a new turn, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu has waded into the wedding-venue dispute

The intense sibling rivalry between Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Y.S. Sharmila over family properties and father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's political legacy has now trickled down to a bitter dispute over use of one of their grand abodes for a wedding in the family.

The scheduled wedding is of Andhra Pradesh Congress unit chief Sharmila's daughter Y.S. Anjili Reddy to the US-based Somala Raghuram Reddy, on November 25.

The venue Sharmila chose for the event is the sprawling, palace-like family property at Yelahanka in Bengaluru, sparking a fresh round of disagreement with elder brother and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Reddy, who heads the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP).

Jagan Reddy has contested the decision to hold the wedding there. With the dispute quickly gaining traction, his office, on October 24, released a letter to the media, purportedly written by him to Sharmila on October 9 and stating his objections. In the letter, seen by INDIA TODAY, Jagan Reddy cited "serious security concerns" that a grand wedding in the premises that he stays in would pose.

The property in question, sources said, is spread over about 20 acres and has separate residential bungalows for Jagan Reddy and Sharmila. The siblings stay there frequently.

Referring to her sister as "Dear Sharmi", Jagan Reddy begins the letter by stating that "despite all that has transpired over the past seven years, I sincerely wish Anjili a lifetime of happiness and love". "Having said that, it has come to my attention that ignoring my concerns, you intend to have the wedding at my Bangalore residence. Conducting wedding in the premises that I stay in would pose serious security concerns and the same was conveyed through various people," states the letter.

Jagan then pleads that a wedding involves "a large number of people entering the property, including various service providers, catering staff, flower decoration teams, event management personnel, videographers photographers as well as the guests". "With so many people, a majority of whom we don't even know, coming in and out, and videos and photographs of the premises and of the surrounding areas in circulation, [it] would pose serious security concerns," he writes.

Arguing that it "was not an easy decision to make" since he has seen Anjili grow up and "wants nothing but the best for her", Jagan adds that "the security and privacy risks cannot be overlooked". "Even if it were for Harsha or Varsha (Jagan Reddy's daughters), I would have done the same."

Saying that he has been hurt by Sharmila's decision to go ahead with her plans, Jagan Reddy urges his sister to reconsider. He has instead offered Sharmila his Hyderabad Lotus Pond residential property if she "does not want to use a convention centre or a destination wedding venue as did for Raja's wedding". Raja is Sharmila's son -- his wedding took place in 2024 in Jodhpur.

The YSR siblings have opulent twin bungalows at various locations -- Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Idupulapaya (family estate in Kadapa), properties that Sharmila's side says were acquired when Rajasekhara Reddy was alive with the intention of giving equal share to Jagan Reddy and Sharmila.

"Now, Jagan is claiming the entire Yelahanka property as his own. It was bought about 20 years ago when YSR was alive with the same intention of dividing it equally between the siblings. Moreover, Sharmila is residing there as much as Jagan Reddy. Does she have no right to hold her daughter's wedding at her place?" asked a close aide of Sharmila in a conversation with INDIA TODAY. "If not for YSR's sudden demise in the 2009 chopper crash, the sharing of assets would have been a smooth affair."

The aide brushes aside Jagan Reddy's security concerns as humbug, arguing that the two bungalows were separated by a partition and there was no easy way to trespassing onto Jagan Reddy's side.

However, the Jagan Reddy camp harps on the security aspect while claiming that Sharmila wants to showcase the property to outsiders, i.e. by inviting Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena and BJP leaders to the event. The aides make light of Sharmila's claims of equal rights in family properties, saying that most of the assets were earned by Jagan Reddy through his investments and business acumen and that he had already given his sister properties worth over Rs 240 crore.

Although Sharmila has not spoken out publicly over the feud, her aide maintains that the Yelahanka Palace continues to be the wedding venue. Sharmila, the aide said, has already met the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and invited them for the wedding, and she will also extend invitations to the CMs of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana soon.

Meanwhile, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu seems to have waded into the family feud. Accusing Jagan Reddy of treating his sister unfairly amidst property disputes, Naidu questioned Jagan Reddy's "decision" to disallow Sharmila to use the family's Yelahanka Palace for her daughter's wedding. Naidu said Jagan Reddy had turned out to be a "Kansa" (maternal evil uncle of Lord Krishna) "with his objection even as invitation cards were printed and being distributed".

It is not clear if Sharmila would visit Jagan Reddy too to invite him for the wedding. The Jagan Reddy-Sharmila estrangement began in 2019, a decade after their father and charismatic Congress chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy's death.

When Jagan was in jail from May 2012 to September 2013, arrested in disproportionate assets cases, it was Sharmila who led the YSRCP poll campaign. She also took a major lead in the 2019 electioneering, aiding her brother's mega victory with her own crowd-pulling oratory skills and rallies.

However, Sharmila was not given any role in the Jagan Reddy government. Following this and amidst property disputes, she steered clear of Andhra Pradesh politics and formed the YSR Telangana Party in 2021. But ahead of the 2024 elections, she merged the outfit with the Congress and became the Andhra unit chief of the Congress -- a role in which she has bitterly criticised the tenure of the Jagan Reddy government.

Political rivalry peaked as Jagan Reddy accused his sister of indirectly siding with and aiding Naidu. This was followed by Jagan Reddy moving the Hyderabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and accusing Sharmila of illegally transferring shares in the Hyderabad-based Saraswati Power and Industries to their mother Y.S. Vijayamma and thereby her own control. The disputes and cases continue to brew, just as the uncertainty over the venue of what promises to be a grand wedding in Andhra political circles.