Y S Sharmila joins Congress as party aims to revive its fortunes in Andhra Pradesh

In attempts to revive fortunes in its erstwhile bastion Andhra Pradesh by cashing in on former CM Y S Rajashekhar Reddy's legacy, Congress on Thursday inducted Y S Sharmila into the party, 13 years after her family was forced out following Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s attempt to claim his father’s political legacy, which was perceived as a threat.

Sharmila's entry into the Congress, where her father Y S Rajashekhar Reddy, YSR, rose to prominence as a regional satrap, comes after years of playing second fiddle to her brother Jagan who became Andhra Pradesh chief minister decimating the Congress.

The immediate task before Sharmila will be to breathe life into the Congress, which has been reduced to a party with less than 2 per cent votes following anger over its role in bifurcating the state into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The importance the party gave for her entry was evident when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi were present during her induction into the party. Congress General Secretaries KC Venugopal (Organisation) and Jairam Ramesh (Communications) as well as Andhra in-charge Manickam Tagore were also present while she also met former Congress president Sonia Gandhi later.

While she is expected to get a meaty organisational role, Sharmila said she is ready to work for the party irrespective of whether she is sent to Andaman or Andhra.

Congress believes that Jagan is facing anti-incumbency and her presence would act as a catalyst to revive the party besides wooing former Congressmen who are now aligned with Jagan's YSR Congress. Sharmila initially wanted to be part of the Congress in Telangana but A Revanth Reddy's fierce objections prompted party central leadership not to go ahead.

"Today, I am very happy to be merging YSR Telangana party into the Congress...Congress is still the largest secular party of country and it has always upheld the true culture of India, Congress built our nation, unwaveringly served all communities and united all sections of the society," she said after joining the party.

Invoking her father's memory, she said Rajashekhar Reddy who died in a chopper crash while he was chief minister, was a legendary leader who not only served the Congress all his life but also gave his life to serve the party.

"Today it would be giving him great joy that her daughter is following in his footsteps and going to be part of the Congress...It was father's dream to see Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister of our country and I am very glad that I am going to be a part in making that happen," she said.

She also recalled her party not contesting Telangana elections to ensure that anti-BRS votes were not divided while emphasising that she was most happy that she could contribute to the Congress victory in Telangana. She attributed the Karnataka and Telangana victories to Bharat Jodo Yatra, as Rahul gained immense confidence of people, including her.

Seeking to emphasise Congress' secular credentials, she referred to the ethnic violence in Manipur where Christians also suffered losses and said it made her realise that if a secular party is not in power such things would happen. "As a Christian, it pained me that such cruelty took place in Manipur. Around 2,000 churches were burnt and 60,000 were rendered homeless. That kind of cruelty I could not digest," she said.

In a meeting on December 27 here, an overwhelming number of leaders from Andhra Pradesh told Congress leadership that induction of Sharmila will help the rejuvenation of the party ahead of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Almost 90 per cent of the leaders, who attended the meeting here to discuss strategy for the upcoming polls, conveyed their views supporting Sharmila after former party chief Rahul Gandhi asked their views on inducting her into the party. Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul had told the leaders that they should welcome back all those leaders who left the party and wished to come back.