Andhra CM's Sister YS Sharmila To Join Congress Ahead Of Lok Sabha Polls

YS Sharmila Reddy, sister of Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, will join Congress this week, NDTV reported citing sources. It comes a month after the grand old party won the elections in neighbouring Telangana.

For months, there have been speculations that the founder of the YSR Telangana Party would join the Congress. It may be recalled that she had met senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in September 2023.

The report further claims that Sharmila will be given a key post in the party as the grand old party tries to revive its fortunes in the state ahead of state and Lok Sabha polls, this year.

Sharmila, who had parted ways with her brother Jagan and his YSR Congress, established her own political entity in Telangana. However, in the recent elections, she lent her support to the Congress by refraining from fielding any candidates.

Despite her wish to join the Congress, objections from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy resulted in the party postponing her induction in Telangana, where she intended to focus her efforts.

The leaders from the Andhra Congress have been asking the central leadership to bring her to the party. As per an earlier report in South First, 10 MLAs from the ruling YSRCP are in touch with Sharmila and they would join Congress, strengthening the grand old party in the state.

Once a formidable force in Andhra, the Congress was relegated to obscurity following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and after the death of the then Chief Minister of undivided state, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who was killed in a chopper crash in 2009.

Since the 2014 elections, the Congress in Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a decline in performance. In 2014, they secured zero seats with a vote share of 2.8 per cent, and in 2019, their performance further diminished to a mere 1.2 per cent of votes, falling below the count of votes received for NOTA.