Will Cong make YS Sharmila star campaigner for South?

Hyderabad Has the Indian National Congress offered YS Sharmila, president of YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP), the position of party’s star campaigner for South India in return for merging her party into the Grand Old Party of India?

A YSRTP party functionary said Congress had indeed made the offer,but Sharmila did not okay it yet as she is still keen on Telangana. Furthermore, she doesn’t want to involve in Andhra Pradesh politics in anyway, he added.

However, Telangana Congress leadership is dead against her entry into it. “Our TPCC president A Revanth Reddy made it amply clear that her entry into Telangana Congress will be counterproductive as BRS will put the State party unit in a tight-spot by raking up anti-Andhra sentiment,” a Congress leader told Bizz Buzz.

As a via media plan, Congress’ national leadership is said to have put forth the plan of appointing Sharmila as party’s star campaigner for South India. She will be roped in for election campaign for Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka and other States. But she will not be contesting elections this time. Instead, she will be offered Rajya Sabha membership from Karnataka in June next year.

“She will make a final decision after meeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. She will discuss her plans with him,” the party functionary said.

Daughter of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, two-time Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh, and sister of present Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Sharmila launched YSRTP in July 2021 to make a mark in Telangana politics. But her political efforts did not yield any positive results till now.