YSR Congress MP ties the knot with her friend

YSR Congress Party MP from Araku, Goddeti Madhavi, on Friday tied the knot with her childhood friend Kusireddy Siva Prasad, who had played a key role in her poll campaign and proposed her after she was elected to Lok Sabha.

She married Siva Prasad with traditional customs at 3.15 a.m. in her village Sarabhanna Pallem of Koyyuru block in Visakhapatnam district.

Madhavi, 26, made her political debut in the recent polls and is one of the poorest MPs with declared assets of about Rs 1.41 lakh.

The tribal MP and Siva Prasad, employed at a private school, were friends since their school time but it was during the Lok Sabha elections held in April that their friendship blossomed into love.

Siva Prasad played a crucial role in the election, which saw Madhavi defeating six-time MP and former Central minister Kishore Chandra Deo of Telugu Desam Paty (TDP) by over 2.24 lakh votes.

Ahead of the wedding, Madhavi and Siva Prasad had done a photo-shoot in the picturesque Araku valley. The video had gone viral on social media.

Madhavi and Siva Prasad were classmates since the 6th standard in a school in Narsipatnam. Their friendship continued through their higher education.

Madhavi, who is a graduate in physical education, started her career as physical education teacher.

Her father, Goddeti Demudu, was elected to Andhra Pradesh Assembly from Chintapalli in 1994 and 2004 as the candidate of Communist Party of India (CPI). He died in 2015. He had friendship with Siva Prasad's father, Kusireddy Narayana Murthy.

Despite their friendship, the families initially opposed the alliance but later relented.

The MP is set to host a reception at a resort at Rushikonda beach in Visakhapatnam city on October 22. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, his cabinet colleagues and MPs and other leaders are scheduled to attend the reception.IANS