In a change of guard ahead of the elections, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed Y.S. Sharmila as president of the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal said Ms. Sharmila was appointed as president of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) with immediate effect, while the outgoing PCC chief Gidugu Rudra Raju was appointed as special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC). He said the party appreciated the contribution of Mr. Rudra Raju in the role of the APCC president.
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The AICC in-charge for Congress affairs in Andhra Pradesh, Manickam Tagore congratulated Ms. Sharmila for her new role in Andhra Pradesh and expressed hope that she would contribute towards making the party stronger, just like the way her father the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy did in 1999 and 2004.
Paving the way for Ms. Sharmila’s appointment as the State party chief, Mr. Gidugu Raju submitted his resignation to the party leadership on Monday. “I thank AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for appointing me as a special invitee to the CWC and promise to work relentlessly for development of the party at the grass root level,” he said adding: “This is a crucial time as elections are around the corner. Our common goal is growth of the party,” he told The Hindu.
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The APCC leaders and cadres celebrated Ms. Sharmila’s appointment and Mr. Rudra Raju’s elevation by bursting crackers and distributing sweets at Andhra Ratna Bhavan here. Senior Congress leaders Gurunadham, APCC general secretaries Meda Suresh, Yesudas, Ansari, Khurshid, the party’s Vijayawada City unit president Naraharasetty Narasimha Rao, NSUI activists Vemula Srinivas, Gous Beg, Jagan and others participated in the celebrations.
