Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y S Sharmila waged a pitched battle against her own brother, YSR Congress Party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, in the just concluded general elections.
She herself contested in the Lok Sabha elections from the Kadapa parliamentary constituency, opposing her cousin and YSRCP candidate Y S Avinash Reddy. During the campaign, she made wild allegations against not only Avinash but also her brother Jagan in connection with the murder of Y S Vivekananda Reddy.
Despite her war with her sibling, Sharmila did not hold back from speaking her mind on the election results.
The Congress high command asked her to send a report on the possible outcome of the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state, based on the feedback she received from party sources across the state.
According to sources, Sharmila sent the report to the high command indicating that the YSRCP, led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, has an edge in the elections over the National Democratic Alliance led by the Telugu Desam Party.
She reportedly said in the report that Jagan might come back to power for a second successive term with a slender majority and that the YSRCP would also secure a good number of MP seats.
However, Sharmila indicated to the Congress high command that Jagan might not extend support to the INDIA block but might remain neutral if the block is close to forming the government. If required, he might incline towards the BJP again if the latter falls short of the majority, sources said.