Andhra: Can Sharmila wrest YSR’s legacy from Jagan and bring Congress to power?

How will Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee's new president YS Sharmila, the firebrand daughter of the late Andhra chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy (YSR), make a difference in a state where her brother YS Jaganmohan Reddy is the chief minister and prime target of the Congress?

To lead the Congress means to confront Jagan who is heading the YSR Congress (YSRC) government which was formed following differences with the Congress in the wake of YSR's death in 2009 in a helicopter crash.

Sharmila’s aggressive padayatra

Sharmila, once the face of YSRC when Jagan was in jail in connection with alleged disproportionate assets cases, struggled a lot to keep the flag flying high. It was her aggressive padayatra and campaign against the Congress, especially Sonia Gandhi, and the TDP that kept the party intact in the crisis. But differences cropped up in the family once the party won the election in 2019 and Jagan became the chief minister. She parted ways with her brother and migrated to Telangana. Some attribute the reason for the separation to a property dispute while others say it was the fear of a second power centre in the family following the win of YSRC in the 2019 Assembly election.

However, her attempt to become a political force in Telangana capitalising on the goodwill of YSR failed. It forced her to stage a comeback to Andhra Pradesh with the help of the Congress.

Efficacy of Sharmila-Congress combination

The question being debated among political circles is whether she will wrest the legacy of YSR from her brother to lead the Congress to power or use the platform to settle scores with her brother.

Noted commentator Prof K Nageswar is doubtful about the efficacy of the Sharmila-Congress combination as it took place out of a compulsion. In his view, this doesn’t automatically make her a contender for power in a state where voters are polarised between two regional parties, the ruling YSR Congress and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by N Chandrababu Naidu.

Wresting her father’s legacy from brother YS Jaganmohan Reddy will be a formidable task, he opined.

“She has to convince the people as to why she joined the Congress which she used to blame as an enemy of the family. She targeted Sonia Gandhi as responsible for Jagan’s arrest. Sharmila has to present a credible narrative to seek a vote for the same Congress which was rejected by the people following the division of the state in 2014,” he said.

‘Why not Congress in Andhra’ gaining ground

However, APCC working president Dr N Tulasi Reddy dismisses this argument as not being grounded in the reality of Andhra politics.

After the Congress won the Karnataka and Telangana elections, a line of thinking “Why not Congress in Andhra” is gaining ground, he said, and added that Congress’ 10-year “vanvas” is over.

“The ruling YSR Congress and the opposition TDP are undeclared allies of the BJP. This situation created the necessity to think of a non-BJP alternative. Why? As per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, the Centre has to accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh. It is the centre’s responsibility to complete the Polavaram Project which YSR initiated. The Centre backed out on sanctioning packages for backward Rayalaseema and North Andhra regions. Modi’s government has also failed to set up a steel plant in Rayalaseema. For 10 years, the governments of TDP and YSRC, instead of fighting to achieve them, joined hands with Prime Minister Modi who broke these commitments. Congress under Sharmila’s leadership will highlight the collusion of BJP, YSRC, and TDP to present itself as the real alternative,” Dr Tulasi Reddy said.

‘Congress vs Modi’s clique’

Janga Gowtham, another working president of the party, said Sharmila had not joined the Congress only to settle personal scores with her brother Jagan who is the chief minister. “Andhra Pradesh will see a Congress versus Modi's clique in the next elections,” he added.

“She is going to lead the Congress to power on the failures of two governments in 10 years. Our fight under Sharmila’s leadership is to get justice for the Andhra people by exposing the Centre’s apathy and the collusion of the TDP and YSR Congress with PM Modi for their selfish motives,” he said.

‘Congress non-existent in Andhra’

On the other hand, Jagan’s IT minister Gudivada Amarnath dubbed the news of Sharmila’s joining the Congress as inconsequential.

“Congress is non-existent in Andhra. The party has been punished for the damage it wrecked on 5 crore people by agreeing to the division of the state. Congress has zero voter support. So, a new president for a non-existent party is not worthy of a discussion,” he remarked in a press conference.

Congress in Andhra upbeat

But the Congress is upbeat. Sharmila has brought the party into the headlines after a decade. The party is hopeful that the dissidence and revolts in YSR Congress and TDP will catapult the party to the centre stage, if not to power in 2024.