It hasn't been a month since Y S Sharmila took over as the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee. In this short time, she has certainly injected some momentum into the party, which had previously been on the verge of collapse.
Well-versed in capturing media attention, Sharmila has been launching aggressive attacks on her brother, YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is her primary target, rather than focusing on Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu or Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan.
While Sharmila's entry has injected some vitality into the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh, the challenge lies in the fact that she does not possess personal ownership of the party. To effectively run the party and organize large-scale party programs, substantial financial resources are required.
She has been traveling from place to place, delivering speeches, holding press conferences, and organizing rallies. Obviously, she cannot finance these activities from her own pocket, and the party must bear the expenses.
In the past, during the YSR regime, local Congress leaders would often spend their own money to organize party programs or attract crowds to meetings, in hopes of receiving party tickets to contest elections or securing positions within the party.
However, there are currently no such leaders in the party willing to cover the costs of Sharmila's meetings, as they are not seeking party tickets, knowing they cannot win elections. Additionally, the Andhra Pradesh party does not receive significant funding from the high command.
Against this backdrop, Sharmila paid a visit to Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy at his residence on Monday night, sparking various speculations.
While Sharmila's aides claim it was merely a courtesy call, as she had not met him since assuming her role as the APCC chief, there are rumors that she sought assistance from Revanth Reddy for the Andhra unit of the party.
Sources suggest that Sharmila requested financial assistance from Revanth Reddy to bolster the party's operations in Andhra Pradesh, thereby enhancing her campaigning efforts.
She informed him that many Congress leaders are eager to re-engage in active politics, but due to a lack of financial resources, they are unable to do so.
Furthermore, she reportedly sought his influence with industrial groups and real estate firms in Telangana to secure party funding for the APCC, thereby enabling it to become more active ahead of the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh.