Uncertainty is staring at the merger of YSR Telangana Party led by Y S Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, with the Congress party, even as the elections to the state assembly are fast approaching.
There have been reports that the Telangana Congress party leaders, particularly PCC president A Revanth Reddy is resisting the entry of Sharmila into the Telangana unit of the party because he is apprehensive that it might prove for the counter productive to the party due to Telangana sentiment.
Already, Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president K T Rama Rao lost no time in alleging that the Telangana Congress is borrowing Andhra leaders like Sharmila and KVP Ramachandra Rao and hence, the people should not trust it.
As a result, the Congress high command has kept Sharmila at a safe distance from the Telangana unit, while she is not willing to shift her base to Andhra, as it is a question of her credibility.
She cannot work for the Congress in Andhra, after fighting for Telangana all these days. She will be neither here nor there. And she continues to issue statements on social media criticising the BRS government.
Apparently, Shamila was promised a Rajya Sabha ticket from Karnataka in the elections to be held early next year.
The Congress leadership has also promised to bear the loss she had incurred financially by floating the YSRTP and taking up a marathon padayatra across Telangana.
So, till she gets Rajya Sabha ticket, she may have to keep silent. At the most, a couple of her senior followers might be given the Congress tickets in Telangana.
The indecisive attitude of Sharmila has started affecting her credibility. Already, popular folk singer Epuri Somanna, who was considered to be the strong supporter of Sharmila defected to the BRS by meeting party working president K T Rama Rao on Friday.
Many other YSRTP leaders are expected to follow suit, as they see no future in sailing with Sharmila, whose position itself is unstable.
“She is looking for her own selfish political interests and dumping the loyalists who have been with her since the beginning,” a party activist lamented.