Y.S. Sharmila, daughter of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, on January 2 (Tuesday) said she accepted the Congress party’s invitation to join it as “it is the largest secular party in the country.”
Addressing the media here on her way to Idupulapaya in Kadapa district, Ms. Sharmila said that she had helped the Congress party by opting out of the race in the Telangana elections. “Recognising the value of my sacrifice, the party has invited me to work with it, for which I expressed my willingness,” Ms. Sharmila added.
“The decision to work with the Congress party had been taken in the past,” she said, adding that her YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) played an important role in dislodging the BRS government in Telangana.
“In 31 constituencies, the Congress had won the elections with a majority of only 10,000 votes. The party could do so because we opted out of the poll fray,” Ms. Sharmila claimed, adding, “Otherwise, things would have been really difficult for that party.”
Ms. Sharmila said she would visit Delhi on January 3.
Meanwhile, sources in the Congress party here said that Ms. Sharmila was likely to be formally inducted into the party by the leadership on January 4.
However, it was not yet known what post she would be given in the party, as sources said the leadership “does not intend to appoint her as Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president.”
January 4 is a crucial day for the Congress, which has called for a meeting of its general secretaries, State in-charges and State party presidents for a threadbare discussion on the Bharat Nyay Yatra proposed to be taken out by Rahul Gandhi from January 14 from Imphal in Manipur. The yatra is likely to conclude on March 20 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, after covering 14 States and 85 districts across the country.
