Congress’ trump card in Andhra, Sharmila to take on brother Jagan?

New Delhi: With the path of senior leader YS Sharmila cleared for joining the Congress, the grand old party has decided to field her as its chief opponent in Andhra Pradesh against Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

The path for Sharmila to enter the Congress was cleared after a meeting with the senior leaders at the party office gave its go-ahead. As per the approval, YSRTP will be merged into the Congress, sources said.

As the merger process is in its final stage, senior leaders from the party are expected to call on the Congress high command in New Delhi on Wednesday, sources added.

Newsdrum was the first to report last week that Congress was trying to entice Sharmila in a bid to expand its southern footprint in Andhra Pradesh.

Ahead of the Telangana assembly polls, the Congress had been trying to woo Sharmila for the past several months. However, the alliance didn’t materialize as the state unit and leadership of Congress opposed the possible onboarding. The Congress's high command had buckled under pressure from party leaders, particularly state chief A Revanth Reddy against any alliance with Sharmila.

However, now a relook at a possible role for her against her brother has been worked upon. And she is expected to take on CM Jagan Mohan head-on. “The leadership of the grand old party believes that the direct contest could ensure better results for the Congress in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state,” sources said.

It is also believed that Sharmila is in touch with a number of rebels from the Jagan Mohan camp. “If she is able to ensure a split in the YSRCP, or hurt it by taking away crucial legislators and leaders the move would have far-reaching consequences for the Congress.

The grand old party isn’t even in the race for the top three electoral positions in Andhra Pradesh. However, with the entry of Sharmila, it could all change and suddenly the grand old party could become a serious contender for power in the state, sources pointed out.

Though the YSR Congress is instinctively dismissive about the possible joining of Sharmila into the Congress ranks, the party leadership is cautiously looking at the events unfolding.

The younger sister of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Sharmila came to the fore when she undertook a major padayatra in 2012 when Jagan Mohan was incarcerated in jail. Along with her mother, Vijayamma, the yatra was undertaken for more than 3,000 km crossing 14 districts in the state and also helped ensure grassroots connect with the voters.

The Congress leadership is aiming to destroy the YSRCP as it knows that the grand old party cannot regain its stronghold in Andhra unless Jagan Mohan is defeated. The thought in Congress is that if Sharmila manages to wean away, a substantial number of votes and followers of YSRCP, even if she fails to deliver seats, Congress can hope to stay in the poll ring in future.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the YSRCP had swept to power, bagging 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly. It also secured 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats. The TDP finished a distant second with 23 Assembly and three Lok Sabha seats.

If the Congress is able to utilize the strained relationship between brother and sister to its advantage it can ensure further strengthening of its reach in south India, soon after winning in the Telangana and Karnataka Assembly polls.

The grand old party knows that its best chance of stopping Prime Minister Narendra Modi from securing a third term may come from sweeping the southern states.