After months of negotiations and speculations, Congress is preparing to welcome back “one of its own.” Y.S. Sharmila, daughter of two-time united Andhra Pradesh chief minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy of the Congress, is all set to merge her two-year-old political outfit, YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) with the Congress next month.
According to sources close to Sharmila, the significant development could come as early as September first week.
It has been reliably learnt that the idea to merge the party was broached as early as last year by Sunil Konugolu, who is now political advisor to Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and was also poll strategist for the Congress.
Since then, both the parties have weighed pros and cons and took the discussions forward with the help of senior leaders like Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar. Till now, representatives of Sharmila were directly involved in two-three “serious meetings” with the Congress high command.
On behalf of the Congress, AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal is dealing with the issue. Sharmila tried to make a mark in Telangana politics by undertaking an arduous walkathon (padayatra) of 3,800km across the state. She also stayed in the limelight with her aggressive criticism of the ruling party, BRS, who she accused of preventing her from carrying out her protests and party work. At the same time, she took the Andhra-Telangana border seriously and stayed away from venturing across the line where her bother, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is the Chief Minister and heads the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
However, it may be a thing of the past. The Congress seems to be keen to not limit Sharmila to Telangana and first take her to Delhi via a key post in AICC and then gradually involve her in Andhra politics and also in southern parts of India where her father enjoys immense popularity. This will be fast-tracked in case Congress comes to power at the Centre and puts in motion the plans of revival of the party in Andhra, where the party is on a death bed.
Coming to Telangana, there are two sections with two different opinions on the merger. While one section doesn’t want her to campaign in Telangana due to her roots being in Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, other senior leaders feel it will be an advantage to have her on board since there are many admirers of her father, who accidentally passed away in a helicopter crash, triggering a wave of sympathy among the Telugu population.
Telangana Congress President A. Revanth Reddy seems to be unconvinced with the idea of the merger whereas another senior leader and MP, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy has welcomed the move. In this scenario, the Congress high command has gathered reports and opinions and looks like they have decided her political course.
Sharmila’s close associates have made it clear that they are open to working with the Congress without any terms and conditions as their only aim is to realise YSR’s dream of seeing Rahul Gandhi as the prime minister of the country, even if it means Sharmila holding the party’s reigns in Andhra Pradesh.
