With this move, Sharmila will be taking on her brother and AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the upcoming state Assembly elections.
Published Jan 16, 2024 | 4:58 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 16, 2024 | 5:01 PM
YS Sharmila joined the Congress in the presence of AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi. (Supplied)
The Congress on Tuesday, 16 January, appointed YS Sharmila, the daughter of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) as the new president of the Andhra Pradesh state unit.
Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, joined the Congress on 4 January in Delhi in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress president “has appointed YS Sharmila Reddy as the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect,” said an official announcement by the party, dated Tuesday, 16 January.
Kharge “has also appointed Gidugu Rudra Raju, the outgoing PCC president, as a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee”, announced the party.
“The party appreciates the contributions of Gidugu Rudra Raju in his role as PCC president,” said the Congress as part of its announcement.
Sharmila, the founder of the YSRTP, had also announced the merger of her party with the Congress and said she would fulfil any responsibility given to her.
Lauding the Congress, she said it was the largest and “most secular” party in the country as it unwaveringly served all communities and united all sections of people.
“Today, I am very happy to be merging the YSR Telangana Party into the Congress. It gives me immense joy that the YSR Telangana Party is going to be a part of the Indian National Congress from today onwards. That YSR Telangana party is not going to be separate any more from the Congress gives me great delight,” she had said after joining the Congress.
With this move, Sharmila will enter the political arena as a leader in Andhra Pradesh and take on her brother in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Congratulations to Smt. @realyssharmila garu on being appointed as the new President of the @INC_Andhra
I hope you will contribute to making the Congress party stronger, similar to the way late YS Rajasekhara Reddy Garu did in 1999 and 2004..With hope 🇮🇳.#YSSharmila pic.twitter.com/IGmOWUWpfd
— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) January 16, 2024
As reported by South First on 1 January, Sharmila was scheduled to be inducted into the grand old party on 4 January. She officially joined the party in Delhi in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, and Andhra Pradesh unit leaders.
Sharmila is expected to take charge immediately after her son’s formal engagement scheduled for 18 January.
The 2014 elections were held soon after the state was bifurcated, for which the people held the Congress responsible.
Since then, the grand old party has witnessed a poor performance in Andhra Pradesh, securing zero seats with 2.8 percent of votes in 2014 and an even lower 1.2 percent of votes in 2019, which was less than the number of votes polled for NOTA.
One of the major reasons that contributed to this poor performance was the migration of most leaders from the Congress to the YSRCP, founded by Jagan.
This migration occurred after he was denied the chief minister’s post and the sentiment against the bifurcation of the state also played a role, leading Congress leaders to join the regional party founded by their late leader’s son.
In Jagan’s current Cabinet, 18 out of 25 ministers hail from a Congress background.
The Congress is now looking forward to Sharmila reviving its presence in Andhra Pradesh and reclaiming the YSR legacy that is currently being propagated by her brother YS Jagan.
Sharmila, who had campaigned for her brother’s party since its launch in 2011, had a fallout with him after he assumed power in 2019.
Subsequently, she formed the YSRTP and entered Telangana politics. However, she did not contest in the 30 November Telangana elections, and instead extended support to the Congress.
