Andhra CM’s Sister, YS Sharmila, Steps Up as State Cong Chief: What’s Her Next Move?

YS Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and the daughter of former (undivided) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, has been appointed as the president of the Congress’ state unit on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. The announcement was made by Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge in a statement signed by General Secretary KC Venugopal. The outgoing state Congress chief, Gidugu Rudra Raju, was appointed as a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee.

A New Role for Sharmila

Sharmila’s appointment is seen as an effort to reclaim Congress’s association with her late father YSR, who had headed APCC in undivided Andhra and led Congress to victory in the 2004 and 2009 polls. Sharmila had formed YSR Telangana Party ahead of 2023 assembly elections in Telangana and supported Congress. She later merged her party with the grand old party on January 4, 2024, in the presence of Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.

Sharmila has her task clearly cut out as the Lok Sabha elections are just around the corner. Andhra Pradesh will also go to polls around the same time. Even though she has been made the PCC chief, sources close to Sharmila maintain that she is unlikely to get into the electoral fray from her home state. If sources are to be believed, the Congress top brass has promised her a Rajya Sabha nomination from the neighbouring state of Karnataka.

Sharmila expressed her gratitude to the Congress leadership for her appointment and said she would work faithfully towards restoring the past glory of the party in the state with total commitment and integrity. “I thank hon’ble @kharge ji, #SoniaGandhi ji, @RahulGandhi ji, and @kcvenugopalmp ji for trusting me with post of the president of @INC_Andhra Pradesh. I will work with total commitment and integrity to restore our party’s past glory in AP,” she tweeted.

A Sibling Rivalry for YSR’s Legacy

Andhra Pradesh is set to witness a high-stakes sibling rivalry during upcoming elections as Sharmila will have to take on her elder brother and AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP. Jagan is serving his first term as the chief minister of the state, and that too with a defining majority. Jagan’s party has 151 MLAs in the assembly and 22 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Recently, TDP Lok Sabha MP Kesinani resigned from the TDP and joined the YSRCP.

Jagan has named numerous state schemes after YSR, who is still revered by many people in the state. Sharmila will have to challenge Jagan’s popularity and performance, while also invoking her father’s legacy. Though there haven’t been direct public confrontations between the siblings, YSRCP leaders have hinted at a robust approach toward Sharmila during the election campaign. Those not aligned with YSRCP have been warned of being treated as adversaries.

Sharmila has said that she has political differences with her brother Jagan and claimed that there was no presence of his party in Telangana. “I have grown up in Telangana. I am married here. I have political differences with my brother,” she said in February 2021. She also said that her father’s dream was to see Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister and that she would work for it. “Till his last breath, YSR worked hard for the Congress,” she posted on her social media accounts. “It is the biggest secular party and it has a role in the founding of this nation. YSR wanted to see Rahul Gandhi as PM, we will work for it.”

A Revival Attempt for Congress

Congress leadership anticipates that Sharmila’s political presence could attract supporters who had deserted the party after the bifurcation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh in 2014. As YSR’s daughter, Congress sees her as a potential catalyst to revive the party’s past influence, especially considering its current absence in the state legislature. From winning consecutive assembly elections in 2004 and 2009, Congress does not have a single MLA now.

Andhra Pradesh is said to be a battle between the ruling YSRCP and its bitter rival Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is in alliance with Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena. Then comes the Congress and the fourth in the fray is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been desperately trying to find its footprint in South India, especially in Andhra Pradesh. In the last elections, the vote percentage of the BJP was barely 1%. The Congress is fancying its chances, given the recent success in Karnataka, where it overthrew the BJP government with a clear majority.

Kharge expressed confidence that Sharmila’s leadership would strengthen the Congress in Andhra Pradesh and said that she would work for the welfare of the people. “I am sure that under her leadership, we will be able to revive the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh and fight for the rights and welfare of the people. She has a lot of experience and charisma. She is a dynamic leader and a mass leader,” he said.