Born into a political family and married in her teens into a family engaged in a running political-cum-factional feud in the area well known as the land of bombs, Allagadda in Kurnool district, Bhuma Shobha Nagi Reddy grew in politics with simplicity as her trademark.
Though her entry into politics was accidental in 1996 her rise was incremental – result of her commitment and hard work. Born on November 16, 1968, in the family of S.V. Subba Reddy, who had a long stint with TDP, including working as a minister before joining the Congress, Ms. Shobha Nagi Reddy studied up to Intermediate.
Married to Bhuma Nagi Reddy in 1986, she was a witness to bloody factional feuds her family was engaged in with its rivals. She became the pillar of support to Mr. Nagi Reddy who was forced to contest a by-election to the Allagadda assembly constituency in 1992 following his brother’s sudden death.
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Her entry into politics was accidental as she started campaigning for her husband, who took on then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in Nandyal in 1996 on TDP ticket. She worked hard to ensure victory to her husband in the by-election to the seat later in 1996 following Mr. Rao’s resignation to retain the Berhampur seat.
Ms. Shobha Nagi Reddy was thrown into direct politics a few months later when she successfully contested the by-election to the Allagadda assembly seat, vacated by her husband, in 1997. She was re-elected on TDP ticket to the Assembly in 1999 and went on to become the first woman Chairperson of the A.P. State Road Transport Corporation.
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As the political fortunes swung the other way, she was defeated in the 2004 election from Allagadda as also her husband from the Nandyal parliamentary seat. The couple joined the Praja Rajyam Party with its inception and she was elected to the Assembly again in 2009. However, she started gravitating towards the YSR Congress when the PRP started looking towards the Congress.
Her association with the YSRC leadership strengthened further when her eldest daughter was married to the son of former Mayor of Kadapa P. Ravindranath Reddy, who happens to be the maternal uncle of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. After quitting the Allagadda seat protesting victimisation of Mr. Jagan, she won it with a thumping majority of over 36,000 votes in the 2012 by-election.