YS Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, is all set to join the Congress, merging her YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) with the grand old party, sources told News18, adding that she is tipped to join the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress.
Buzz of Sharmila‘s entry into the Congress has been building up for a while. It was even speculated that she may enter the party during the recent Telangana elections. Sources now say there is some certainty that the daughter of the late stalwart YS Rajasekhara Reddy will join the Congress in the presence of national leaders in New Delhi on January 4, 2024.
Following its debut win in Telangana, the Congress wants to up the ante in Andhra Pradesh where YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy is serving his second term as Chief Minister. Jagan Reddy, who has 151 MLAs in the Assembly and 22 MPs in the Lok Sabha, is perceived to be friendly with the BJP-led central government and has lent his support to the Centre on multiple bills in Parliament and the candidature of the President and Vice President.
The Congress has practically been written off in Andhra Pradesh, with the YSR Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is in alliance with Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena, taking the top two slots. Then comes the Congress and the fourth party in the fray is the BJP, which has been desperately trying to find its footprint in South India, especially in Andhra Pradesh. In the last elections, the vote percentage of the BJP was barely 1%.
Andhra Pradesh, which will vote simultaneously in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, will likely witness a sibling rivalry of epic proportions. While there is no clarity yet on what role Sharmila would play in the Congress if she does join the party, sources say she will try her luck in the Lok Sabha elections.
Leaders in the YSR Congress, meanwhile, played down the significance of Sharmila’s speculated move. “Sharmila joining the Congress party will have no impact really on the fortunes of the YSR Congress. The party has worked tirelessly for the cause of the people over the last five years. Anyway, the Congress is not a factor in Andhra Pradesh. The last time they polled only 1.25% votes. With the addition of Sharmila, possibly they will get a few percent more,” a top leader in the YSR Congress told News18.
A per the buzz in local political circles, Sharmila is in touch with some rebels from the YSRCP. Sources in Jagan’s party, however, say there are hardly any rebels in the party as of now as tickets for upcoming elections haven’t been decided yet. But come ticket distribution time, the pool of rebels may get bigger.
The younger sister of Jagan Mohan Reddy, Sharmila had come to the fore when she undertook a major padyatra (march) in 2012 when her brother was in jail. Along with her mother, Vijayamma, Sharmila’s yatra travelled more than 3,000km, crossing 14 districts in the state.
Following differences with her brother in July 2021, she launched her own party called the YSR Telangana Party.
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