Congress Eyes Andhra Revival By Signing Up Sharmila, Whose Father YSR Made 2 UPA Govts Possible

YS Sharmila with Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge after joining the party in New Delhi on January 4.

With YS Sharmila, the daughter of former Congress strongman of united Andhra Pradesh, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, officially joining the party, the Congress appears to have made its first move for its revival in Andhra Pradesh. It was YSR Reddy who had made two UPA governments possible by sending over 30 Congress legislators from the state to the Lok Sabha. 

"A big personality is about to join at 10.30 a.m. tomorrow” — declared a Congress announcement on Wednesday, in the same manner as the BJP usually does through a whispering campaign and social media buzz. On Thursday morning, Sharmila visited the AICC headquarters along with her cadre and leaders to join the Congress in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. 

Surely a shot in the arm for the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, which has seen only desertions and its vote share sinking over the last 10 years to rock bottom of less then 2 percent in the state, which now has YSR’s son Jaganmohan Reddy at the helm. Incidentally, all former Congress leaders followed him to the breakaway political party he formed. 

Reacting to Sharmila joining the Congress, Jaganmohan said some party divides families for political benefit, and then immediately called on former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao to make common cause with him.

Sharmila, on her part, said she was happy that she will now be working to make her late father’s "dream of making Rahul Gandhi the prime minister" true. She joined the Congress and announced the merger of her party, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu (YSR) Telangana Party, with the grand old party. 

“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 anymore from the Congress party gives me great delight,” Sharmila said after donning the Congress stole gifted by Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. She had formed her regional party in 2021 after she developed serious differences with her bother. 

Shot In The Arm 

Sharmila said her father would be happy with his daughter returning to the Congress fold. "YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the legendary leader of the Telugu people not only served the Congress party all his life but also gave his life serving the Congress party. And today it would give him great joy that his daughter is following in his footsteps and is going to be a part of the Congress party,” she said. 

"The Congress party is still the largest secular party of our country. The Congress party has always upheld the true culture of India. The Congress party has built our nation’s foundations up. The Congress party has unwaveringly served all communities, uniting all sections of the people of India,” she said, stating the reason why she joined the party.

"I must also say at this moment that as a Christian it pained that such cruelty took place in Manipur. 2,000 churches were vandalised, and 60,000 people became homeless. And that kind of cruelty is something I am not able to digest till this day. That is the day I thought, it suddenly struck me that this is what will happen if a secular party is not in power. Therefore, I am joining the Congress and merging the YSR Telangana Party with it today very gladly because I know that the Congress party will uphold all the sections of the people in Indian society,” she said while speaking to the media.

Her entry is being seen as a sureshot sign of Congress revival and her induction comes after a strategy meeting a few days ago. It was decided by the Congress leadership to welcome all those leaders who left the party over the past decade. 

"We welcome the leaders and workers who have left Congress in Andhra and believe in the ideology of Congress to come back and contribute to building a better Andhra Pradesh,” said Manickam Tagore, Congress leader and Andhra in-charge.

AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge hoped that Congress workers will work hard to re-establish the bond the people of Andhra Pradesh once shared with the party. 

A Turning Point For Congress In Andhra Pradesh?

Sharmila had campaigned for her brother when he was jailed in a corruption case, and had undertaken a 3,100 km padayatra in 2012-13. After her brother’s release from jail, Sharmila again played a role in the victory of the YSRCP in elections to the 2019 Andhra Pradesh elections, which ended the TDP rule in the state.

Following differences with her brother, Sharmila took out another padayatra in 2021 in Telangana. Last year, ahead of the elections in Telangana, she had announced her party’s support for the Congress by deciding to not contest the polls. Following her induction, she said she is happy to have contributed to the party’s election victory in the state.

“Mr. Rahul Gandhi has gained immense confidence not only in me but most people in India with the Bharat Jodo Yatra. And that yatra led to the victory in Karnataka. I realised that will have a domino effect in Telangana and therefore, because Congress stood a chance of winning in Telangana, I graciously withheld from contesting the elections in Telangana because we did not want to break the anti-KCR vote,” she said. 

Sharmila's entry into the Congress could invigorate the party's grassroots workers and supporters, who may see this as a return to the party's earlier, more successful era under YSR Reddy. Furthermore, her decision to merge her YSR Telangana Party with Congress symbolises a unification of forces, which could enhance the party's appeal and strengthen its organisational structure.

Furthermore, her remarks on secularism, as highlighted in her comments about the situation in Manipur, aligns with the Congress's traditional secular stance, potentially appealing to a broader section of society concerned about communal harmony. This ideological alignment may help Congress reassert its position as a secular alternative in the state.

The strategic decision by Congress leadership to welcome back leaders who left the party over the past decade, as emphasised by Manickam Tagore, suggests an inclusive approach towards rebuilding the party's structure and support base in Andhra Pradesh. Sharmila's induction, therefore, seems to be a part of a larger strategy to rejuvenate and consolidate Congress's presence in the state.

The author is a Bengaluru-based senior journalist.

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