Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y S Sharmila, who entered into the state politics with a bang attacking her brother and YSR Congress party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy during the elections, failed to make any impact on the elections.
Sharmila was appointed as the APCC chief by the party high command, hoping that she would rejuvenate the party and bring back its glory at least to some extent.
But the people rejected not only the Congress once again, but also Sharmila’s attempt to gain some footing in the state politics.
The Congress, which had won 1.17% of votes in 2019, could only improve its vote share marginally to 1.72%, but it failed to win even a single assembly or Lok Sabha seat for the third consecutive term.
Sharmila herself could not succeed in making a debut into national politics by winning the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, despite her loud-mouth campaign against her cousin and YSRCP candidate Y S Avinash Reddy, accusing him of murdering uncle Y S Vivekananda Reddy five years ago.
Sharmila stood in the third position in the Kadapa Lok Sabha election results. Out of the total number of 12,27,302 votes polled in Kadapa, Avinash Reddy got 5,97,101 votes and won the seat, while TDP candidate Ch Bhupesh Reddy secured 5,37,611 votes.
Sharmila got only 1,35,730 votes and lost her deposit, as predicted by her brother in a television interview. So, she gained nothing for herself in the elections.
However, there are reports that the Congress played spoil sport with the chances of the YSRCP in several constituencies, particularly in Rayalaseema region, thanks to the negative campaign launched by Sharmila against her brother.
Though the Congress did not gain any additional votes due to her campaign, it definitely resulted in diversion of pro-Jagan votes to the TDP, rather than the Congress.
“In many constituencies, her campaign led to Christians, Muslims and weaker sections tilting towards the TDP,” sources said.