Sharmila will soon join Congress, says Ramachandra Rao

Vijayawada: Congress party leader K. V. P. Ramachandra Rao has claimed that YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader Y. S. Sharmila will soon join the Congress party.

The former MP said he had information that Sharmila will soon join the Congress.

Rao said that as the daughter of staunch Congressman Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Sharmila has been invited to join the party.

Rao was a close friend of Rajasekhara Reddy, who served as the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh between 2004 and 2009.

The former Rajya Sabha member called on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Gannavaram airport here on Sunday night after the latter returned from Khammam in Telangana, where he addressed a massive public meeting on Sunday evening.

Before meeting Rahul, Rao told media persons that he will brief him of the ground situation in Andhra Pradesh to strengthen the Congress. He exuded confidence that the Congress will come to power in the state in 2024.

Rao believes that the Congress suffered defeat in the previous election due to alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Telangana in 2018.

He said they were trying to rebuild the party brick by brick in the state.

Speculation of Sharmila merging her party with the Congress have been doing rounds for the last few weeks.

The YSRTP leader denied media reports that she was going to be appointed as president of Congress in the state.

Sharmila, sister of the Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, also denied receiving any proposal for the Congress Rajya Sabha ticket from Karnataka.

The YSRTP leader made it clear that she was committed to the cause of Telangana and would continue to fight for the people of the region.

“I was always in Telangana and will be in Telangana till my last breath. My future lies in Telangana and with its people,” she said.

Sharmila has already declared that she will contest from Palair constituency in Khammam district.