YS Sharmila at Congress crossroads

HYDERABAD: Amid speculations of the merger of her party YSR Telangana Party with the Congress, YS Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is virtually at a crossroads with regard to her political future in the grand old party.

Her tryst with the Congress party began with hectic lobbying with the help of the Man Friday of the Karnataka Congress DK Siva Kumar. The ball started rolling when she met the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka to congratulate him after the Congress party won the elections in the neighbouring State.

Now that the merger of her party with the Congress seems to be certain, it would be interesting to see how Sharmila’s future course of action would be, once the marriage of YSRTP with the Congress gets official.

Going by her comments after meeting with senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Sharmila might be asked by the Congress to contest from Telangana in the ensuing elections giving the Telangana Congress a new face in the campaign. As a tip to the media in New Delhi, she said that the days of K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) were numbered and stressed her fondness for Telangana and its development.

Sharmila, being the daughter of former Chief Minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhar Reddy might prove effective for the Congress in Telangana which is hoping for a turnaround after its victory in Karnataka.

YS Sharmila who has been attacking the policies of the KCR Government in Telangana and who calls herself the daughter-in-law of Telangana, might be more useful for the Congress in Telangana, than in Andhra Pradesh, where she apparently has no network compared to Telangana where she extensively toured.

Telangana Congress president A Revanth Reddy invited the disgruntled BRS leader Tummala Nageswara Rao into the party so as to pre-empt the possibility of Sharmila vying for the Palair Assembly seat. Revanth Reddy's group is projecting that any association with her would label the TPCC as an Andhra party.

However, her supporters, including Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka are keying to have her fielded from Palair to checkmate the candidacy of Tummala. However, the association between Revanth and Tummala goes back to their Telugu Desam days where Tummala was a veteran. If Tummala is admitted and fielded in the fray, that will be one more addition of the TPCC chief from his alma mater, the TDP.

The other option before the Congress high command could be pitting her against her brother in Andhra Pradesh in an apparent bid to embarrass him. Sharmila who played a crucial role by undertaking a walkathon while her brother was incarcerated was sidelined after he won the elections and became the Chief Minister. Sharmila and her mother YS Vijayalakshmi who was once the honorary president of the YSRCP, relocated to Telangana and made Lotus Pond their headquarters.

If Sharmila is asked to return to Andhra Pradesh and contest elections there, the Congress which might not have a winning chance in the already crowded political space, with the YSRCP, TDP, Janasena, and BJP pitching their tents already, Sharmila will at least be the saving grace for the party. Even if she is sent to Andhra Pradesh on a mission to embarrass YS Jagan, she can still help Congress in its campaign against KCR in the sister state of Telangana.

The options for the sharp-witted YS Sharmila were not limited to the sibling States as one more angle emerged in the buzz after her meeting with Sonia and Rahul. It is said that the party might nominate her for the Rajya Sabha position from Karnataka, off course with the blessing of Sivakumar and entrust her with campaign responsibilities in the Telugu States and parts of Karnataka where Telugus reside in large numbers.

Either way, Sharmila seems to have abandoned her grandiose plan to win elections in Telangana on the YSRTP plank. She will either be playing second fiddle to A Revanth Reddy, helping him snatch power from formidable opponent KCR, or cause ample headache to her brother YS Jagan in AP.