Andhra CM Jagan's Sister YS Sharmila Merges Her YSR Telangana Party With Congress

Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's sister YS Sharmila, founder of YSR Telangana Party, has formally joined the Congress on Thursday.

She merged her party with the Congress in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.

"Today, I am very happy to be merging the YSR Telangana party into the Congress 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," YS Sharmila said after merging the YSR Telangana Party into the Congress.

As per the reports, Sharmila, who quit her brother's YS Jagan YSRCP and had left for Telangana politics following differences of opinion, is expected to be given a top post in the Andhra Congress. The grand old party, once a formidable force in Andhra, lost its ground after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the exit of many leaders to the YSRCP party.

Sharmila, who was forefront in criticising the Congress for targeting her family after the CBI had arrested YS Jagan on charges of amassing wealth and assets through illegal means during his late father's tenure as the chief minister, is looking to make a comeback to Andhra politics.

Her entry to Congress is expected to strengthen the Congress party and reports claim that over 10 MLAs are willing to quit the ruling YSRCP to join the Congress.

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.

With TDP facing an existential crisis and the BJP struggling to make any significant impact in Andhra politics, the grand old party is looking to bounce back.