YS Sharmila’s party merging with Congress makes political sense for her

Earlier this week on June 19, YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief YS Sharmila, who is also the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, took everyone by surprise by wishing Congress leader and ex-MP Rahul Gandhi on his birthday. It set the rumour mill going about a possible merger of her outfit with the Congress that is trying hard to revive itself in the Telugu states. Speculation has been rife if Sharmila would play a role in Congress in Telangana or in Andhra Pradesh, which would pit her against her brother, who also heads the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

Interestingly, a few days later on Friday, June 23, Sharmila flatly denied all talk of her joining the Andhra Pradesh Congress unit. A press release from her office also said that there was no truth to media reports of her receiving any proposals from Congress. “My future is only with Telangana, in Telangana. My desire, my struggle is for Telangana alone. Jai Telangana,” she said. 

However, party sources from YSRTP confirmed that talks are currently ongoing with the Congress and if Sharmila does make a move, it will be to align with the Telangana unit of the party. The YSRTP has no major financial or other resources like other parties to survive as it stands currently. Sharmila, who is the daughter of the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader YS Rajasekhara Reddy, is more or less on an irreconcilable path with her brother Jagan Mohan Reddy. Jagan essentially drove her out of the YSRCP, a party which he formed in 2011 after quitting Congress, by denying her any significant position of power. 

“Sharmila’s brother is the Andhra Pradesh chief minister and she can’t disturb any equation there. The traditional Congress voter base has shifted to the YSRCP. Her father YSR is still a factor in Telangana, which is clearly visible during campaigns of leaders in the state. Her aim currently is to contest from Palair constituency (in Telangana’s Khammam district bordering Andhra Pradesh) on a Congress ticket if possible,” a YSRTP functionary who did not want to be named told TNM.

YS Rajasekhara Reddy passed away in September 2009 in a helicopter accident, the same year when the Congress won the Andhra Pradesh elections for a second consecutive time under his leadership. However, soon after his demise, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K Chandrashekar Rao intensified his demand for a separate Telangana, which eventually became a reality on June 2, 2014. On the other hand, Jagan, who was facing corruption allegations and is still under investigation in those cases by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), fell out of favour with the Congress leadership and floated the YSRCP in 2011. 

After Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were bifurcated in 2014, Sharmila had campaigned for the YSRCP in 2014 as she was in the party. Jagan had then engaged the political consulting firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) to be in charge of his campaign, and Sharmila was a prominent part of this operation. While there were talks of her contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Andhra Pradesh in 2019, this eventually came to nought. The YSRCP also won the state Assembly elections the same year with a thumping victory, winning 151 of the 175 Assembly seats. 

However, post the 2019 elections, Sharmila and Jagan had a fallout, as he would not accommodate her political ambitions. “Jagan was not willing to accommodate her within any position of power. It was clear that she was not welcome and she then decided to float the YSRTP in Telangana using her father’s legacy,” said another YSRTP functionary from Hyderabad.

Congress leaders in Telangana said that talks are on with Sharmila. “She has met DK Shivakumar in Karnataka. In Telangana, many leaders from other parties want to join the Congress. If we induct her, then KCR will say that we are taking in Andhra leaders. However, she is YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s daughter. So it won’t be that easy to isolate her,” a source from the Telangana unit of Congress said.