With no sign of an alliance with the Congress, YS Sharmila event at YSR memorial is a muted affair

It was just Sharmila, her son, daughter, mother, and a handful of supporters who took part in the simple ceremony in the morning.

The only development was that Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted, remembering the late YSR and his service to the party and the state. “He was a visionary leader who devoted his life to the betterment of the people of Andhra Pradesh. He shall always be remembered,” he said.

Sharmila replied to his tweet, thanking him.

Thank you @rahulgandhi ji for your affectionate words, reminiscing late Dr YS Rajashekara Reddy on his birth anniversary. Dr YSR was a committed Congress leader who died in the service of Telugu people, believing in the bright future for this country under your leadership.
His… https://t.co/M57jRgX9nT

— YS Sharmila (@realyssharmila) July 8, 2023

Visit to Palair

Sharmila’s brother and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited Idupulapaya in the afternoon — after Sharmila completed her rituals in the morning.

A few of her supporters, some of whom were from Hyderabad, were with her when she spent time in poignant silence at her father’s memorial as her son Raja Reddy and daughter Anjali sat on either side.

Sharmila then visited Palair in the erstwhile Khammam district of Telangana, where she prayed at her father’s statute.

Later, speaking to the media, she said she would work for the welfare of the people of Palair constiutency and that she would take YSR rule to each doorstep in the constituency. She said: “I will resume my padayatra in this constituency. I will serve Palair sincerely,” she said.

Related: Some in Congress sees ‘value’ in Sharmila — but in AP, not Telangana

Telangana Congress keeps Sharmila at bay

For the last month, there has been a buzz in the YSRTP that Sharmila would either be joining the Congress or merging her party with it.

Sharmila, according to sources, was keen on joining the Congress, but she wanted to work in Telangana, something a section of the party’s state unit was not keen on.

The opposition stemmed from the fact that her Andhra Pradesh-origin tag might hurt the interests of the party in Telangana which has been showing signs of resurgence since the win in neighbouring Karnataka.

Some leaders were afraid that the ruling BRS might use it to its advantage by painting the Congress as a party that was banking on a leader from Andhra Pradesh, the state from which it split in 2014.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, KCR raked up Telangana sentiment when TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu joined hands with the Congress in the state to contest the elections.

In fact, at that time KCR’s image was plummeting with none of his welfare programmes and development work cutting much ice with the people.

However, when Chandrababu Naidu arrived in Telangana to strike an alliance with the Congress, KCR found a godsend political weapon. He inflamed Telangana passions and managed to turn the tide of public opinion in his favour — and walked away with 88 seats in the 119-member Assembly.

Related: Sharmila’s plans join Congress opposed by mother Vijayamma?

Congress wants her in Andhra

The Congress which wanted to prevent a repeat of this disaster, sought to keep Sharmila at bay in Telangana. State unit president A Revanth Reddy openly said she was a persona non grata in Telangana, but she was welcome to operate in Andhra Pradesh as she actually belonged there.

When the Congress won a decisive victory in Karnataka, Sharmila approached Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and asked him to intercede with the party’s high command on her behalf.

However, Shivakumar, too, is said to have advised her to merge her party in the Congress and shift to Andhra Pradesh.

Although Sharmila’s mother, YS Vijayamma, was reportedly dead against her joining the Congress as it had witch-hunted the entire family after YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s demise in a helicopter crash — even sending her son Jagan to prison — Sharmila tried to pull strings to gain entry into Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad.

Sharmila not keen on Andhra

According to sources, Shiv Kumar, on her repeated insistence about operating from Telangana, had Sunil Kanugolu, who is now the chief advisor to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, look into as to how useful Sharmila would be to the party if she operated in Telangana.

Sunil Kanugole, who draws a lot of water in the Congress, as it is believed that the strategist’s plans had helped the party win the elections in Karnataka, did a quick survey and reported to Shivakumar that the benefit would near zero.

After learning that Sharmila would not have any impact in Telangana, the Congress left the offer to her to work in Andhra Pradesh open-ended. However, it was not an idea that enthused Sharmila.

For one thing, she knows that the Congress in Andhra Pradesh is practically dead, and no matter how hard she flogs it, the party was unlikely to spring back to life, at least in the near future.

In fact, the Andhra Congress does not have any leaders of substance now to lead the charge against Jagan Mohan Reddy. Most of those who did matter have either retired from politics or now are too old.