Sharmila meets Sonia, Rahul, keeps door ajar without dropping hints

NEW DELHI: YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief YS Sharmila met senior Congress party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday, but refused to reveal details of their meeting. AICC general secretary KC Venugopal was also present at the meeting.

Speaking to the media, she said that her focus was on issues related to Telangana. She added that she would always strive for the development of the State. However, refusing to dwell much on the merger of YSRTP with the grand old party she said: “Countdown for K Chandrashekar Rao has begun,” and left.

Her meeting with the senior Congress party leaders was considered a precursor to the merger of her party with the Congress. She had reportedly initiated the process of merger with the help of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Sivakumar. By signaling that the ‘end is near’ for the KCR Government, she indicated strengthening the Congress in Telangana to take on the mighty KCR.