Published Sep 01, 2026 | 11:01 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 01, 2026 | 11:01 AM
YS Sharmila. (X)
The prolonged absence of YS Sharmila, the Andhra Pradesh Congress president, from party affairs is raising questions. Party sources say that she has been taking rest following abdominal surgery towards the end of July, but speculation is mounting about whether the possible denial of a Rajya Sabha nomination has played a part.
Sharmila was last seen at an official party programme on May 19, when she attended a joining ceremony organised by the Congress in Vijayawada.
After the notification for the Rajya Sabha elections was issued, there was talk that she was in the race for a Rajya Sabha seat.
On May 29, Sharmila met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Later, she and her husband met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Sharmila, according to several reports, had been promised a Rajya Sabha seat when she joined the Congress and that she would be given representation from Karnataka. However, she ultimately did not get the nomination.
Amid criticism from the BJP over Sharmila not being given a Rajya Sabha seat, she responded on June 11 through X. She said that the issue of the Rajya Sabha seat concerned only those who had made the promise and those who had received it, and that the intervention of others was unnecessary. Sharmila also alleged on X that she was being targeted to divert attention from 12 years of BJP’s failures.
On June 24, Sharmila attended the wedding of the daughter of an APCC vice-president in Rajahmundry. After that, although she met some Congress leaders in Hyderabad, she did not actively involve herself in AP Congress affairs.
She also participated in the YS Rajasekhara Reddy birth anniversary programme at Idupulapaya on July 8, 2026, along with family members.
At a time when protests over the NEET question-paper leak were gaining momentum across the country, questions were raised about Sharmila’s whereabouts. Even when protests were held at Jantar Mantar and Rahul Gandhi’s arrest became a major political issue, the AP Congress did not organise any significant programmes. This further fuelled the perception that Sharmila was distancing herself from party activities.
On July 26, Sharmila tweeted that she had travelled abroad for her surgery while protests were taking place in Delhi. Since then, she has occasionally responded through X, but she has largely remained away from party and PCC programmes.
Despite the Congress being in power in neighbouring Telangana, there is little clarity about the party’s future in Andhra Pradesh. While Sharmila occasionally questions the failures of the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh, she considers the YSR Congress Party, led by her brother YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, to be her principal political rival.
There are also criticisms that she is giving greater importance to personal disputes than to strengthening the Congress party.
Even senior Congress leaders have been staying away from party programmes. Leaders such as JD Seelam and Koppula Raju are among the few who are occasionally seen at Andhra Ratna Bhavan.
According to second-rung leaders, despite the existing political situation in Andhra Pradesh offering some opportunities for the Congress to rebuild itself, there is no leadership capable of effectively steering the party.
Before Sharmila, Gidugu Rudra Raju served as PCC president. After Sharmila was given the PCC responsibility in his place, senior leaders reportedly began maintaining a distance from party affairs.
There is growing dissatisfaction among Congress leaders over Sharmila herself showing little interest in party activities, particularly after the Rajya Sabha elections.
Congress leaders say that Sharmila’s participation in the YS Rajasekhara Reddy memorial programme organised by KVP Ramachandra Rao in Delhi on September 2 will provide a clearer indication of her current political stance.
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(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
