Though Sharmila refrained from comment, Congress MP Komatireddy Venkata Reddy 'welcomed' her to the party in Telangana.
Published Aug 12, 2023 | 3:49 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 12, 2023 | 3:49 PM
YSRTP president YS Sharmila, flanked by her son and daughter, at the YSR memorial. (Twitter)
YSRTP president YS Sharmila’s visit to Delhi, coming as it did against the backdrop of speculation that she is ready to merge her party into the Congress, has assumed significance.
The YSRTP chief returned to Hyderabad along with Bhongir Congress MP Komatireddy Venkata Reddy late on Friday, 11 August. The Congress leader, while asserting that he did not know the outcome of Sharmila’s visit, said, however, that he was welcoming her into the Congress, particularly in Telangana.
Sharmila did not speak on the purpose of her Delhi visit and what transpired there. She said the media would be briefed about the details at an appropriate time.
She thanked Venkata Reddy for inviting her into the Congress, setting the speculation mills on fire.
Sharmila, with her family members, went to Bengaluru from Hyderabad some time ago and it is said that she went to Delhi from there. She is understood to have met party general secretary KC Venugopal in Delhi since other important leaders — Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikharjun Kharge, and Priyanka Gandhi were busy.
Sharmila is reported to have explained to Venugopal that she would merge her party in return for tickets for her herself and her supporters to contest from Telangana in the Assembly elections slated for year-end.
She is understood to sought at least eight tickets for her supporters in Telangana, besides a ticket for herself to contest from Palair, a constituency in the Khammam district which is a bastion for the Congress even now.
Though it is not yet known what the Congress response to her reported demands was, party leaders are understood to have been chewing on her offer.
There are those who believe she might fetch some votes as her late father and former chief minister of united Andhra, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, had carved a niche for himself in the hearts of the people of Telangana with his welfare schemes — notwithstanding the fact that he was dead-against to the creation of a separate Telangana state.
Venkata Reddy’s comments, made after arriving at Hyderabad airport, were significant.
He wanted to know what was wrong if Sharmila joined the Telangana Congress. To buttress his point, he referred to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao appointing a president for his BRS party in Andhra Pradesh, and also pointed out that the late YSR belonged to all, and not just to the people of Andhra.
He also contended that Sharmila would be able to strengthen the Congress in Telangana.
“She would fetch votes for the Congress, whether four or 400,” he said. He pointed out that it is the responsibility of the party to take everyone along in its journey,
Interestingly, Venkata Reddy was a staunch follower of the late Rajasekhara Reddy.
Even after the latter’s demise in 2009, when his son and current Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was struggling to assert himself, Venkata Reddy stood by him despite the fact that the association would recoil on him, as at that time the Telangana movement was in full swing.
Venkata Reddy resigned as minister in 2011 in protest against the Union government’s delay in the creation of Telangana state.
Sources in the YSRTP told South First that Sharmila is not inclined to move back to Andhra Pradesh — which is what the Congress wants — as she apparently does not want to take on her brother and Chief Minister Jagan.
Apart from this, the Congress has been dead as a dodo in Andhra Pradesh since the bifurcation of the state in 2014. The possibility of the party coming to life is remote, regardless of how severely she may flog it.
Sharmila, since the beginning, has been insisting that she wants to stay on in Telangana and has been sending feelers to the party high command.
She never let any opportunity go by to reach out to the top brass. On the day Rahul Gandhi was reinstated as MP, Sharmila tweeted her congratulations to him. And ahead of her father’s birth anniversary on 8 July, Sharmila had tweeted her resolve to remain in Telangana.
She has been saying that she was Telangana’s daughter and would continue to fight for the state’s people. She believes that the people of Telangana are going through an agonising ordeal under the rule of Chief Minister KCR and his BRS government.
Initially, the party was hesitant about giving her any role in Telangana in the wake of party strategist Sunil Kanugolu telling the leadership that the benefit that would accrue to the party would not be much if she was asked to operate in Telangana.
But it appears the Congress has mellowed down a bit, as winning in Telangana is important. Andhra is a long-term target. It cannot hope for any miracles there in the near future.
Sharmila has been using her 3,800 km padayatra in Telangana as her USP. Her tour of the state generated some political heat because of her controversial statements against the ruling BRS.
There were instances of the police detaining her and bringing her back to Hyderabad, but she continued her padayatra by obtaining a clearance from the Telangana High Court.
If Sharmila makes her entry into the Telangana Congress, she may well be seen as a chief ministerial candidate because of her father’s legacy. But then, there is no dearth of chief minister candidates in the party, which may lead to internal dissensions.
Already, the space for the contenders for the top post is cluttered and Sharmila would be another addition. This is the kind of grist that the BRS needs for its mill.
