Swift off the blocks, she will by the month-end be in Idupulapaya, her native village, in Kadapa district after travelling through all districts and holding review meetings for a stock-taking.
Upping the ante against her brother and Andhra chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Sharmila is already vocal about the incumbent Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government's failures. "It is great responsibility, and I'll give my best to the party. I understand the growing need to strengthen the Congress, which is the largest secular party in the country," says Sharmila, about the challenge of being the catalyst for a Congress revival in the state.
Andhra will witness both Lok Sabha and assembly polls in 2024. In 2014 and 2019, the Congress did not win any of the 175 assembly seats or any of the 25 in the Lok Sabha, owing to the widespread public discontent over the reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh and the formation of Telangana. Moreover, the party's vote share was abysmally poor, at less than 2 per cent.
"Even a decade later, the promised special category status (SCS), as provided for at the time of reorganisation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh in 2014, continues to elude it. The SCS will pave the way for establishing industries and help create jobs for local youth. But the two parties (YSRCP and earlier the Telugu Desam Party, TDP) that ruled the state in the past 10 years failed the people miserably," cites Sharmila as the potential for a Congress revival. She points out how smaller states like Uttarakhand carved out much earlier have benefitted from SCS.
Sharmila accuses Jagan Reddy of double standards on the issue, and alleges that he also pushed the state into bankruptcy. As for TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu, she alleges he did not stage even a single protest after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance denied SCS to Andhra even though he had joined hands with the saffron party saying that it would grant it. In a no-holds-barred attack, Sharmila accuses the TDP and YSRCP of borrowing endlessly and burdening the people of Andhra with a debt of Rs 10 lakh crore.
Lambasting Naidu and Jagan Reddy for failing to even ensure a capital city for the state in a decade, Sharmila says: "While the TDP chief pitched for Amaravati as the capital and showed 3D graphics, Jagan Reddy proposed three capitals. However, the state remains without one." She accuses both of failing to complete the Polavaram irrigation project and prioritising their own interests.
Jagan Reddy has hit back. Addressing the India Today Education Summit in Tirupati on January 24, he warned that the Congress would have to pay for the sin of dividing the state as well as his family. "The Congress always does this—divide and rule. They haven't learnt from lessons in the past and are dividing my family. They brought in my sister to lead their party. Unfortunately, they don't understand that there is a greater power—God will ensure these people learn a lesson!" he declared.
The YSRCP accuses her of parroting the words of Naidu. "She is targeting her brother in order to help Chandrababu Naidu to become Chief Minister," claims Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Jagan's adviser on Public Affairs, asking as to why she " suddenly left Telangana and came to Andhra Pradesh where the Congress is non – existent." But she is confident of setting the stage for a Congress comeback. Stating that voting for the TDP and YSRCP is as good as casting a vote for the BJP, "which also betrayed the people of Andhra Pradesh by not according SCS."
Analysts say Sharmila's unsparing attack is part of the strategy to woo supporters of her father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to join the Congress and strengthen its ranks. Already, Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, who recently quit as YSRCP MLA, has joined the grand old party. More YSRCP members are likely to shift. However, analysts are sceptical about a robust revival in the short time before the elections even though they do not rule out the migration gathering pace to create a potential for the Congress to be a strong player in the polls in 2029.
To garner support, the Congress gamble is to point out that Andhra has not been given its due as promised at the time of reorganisation of the state in 2014. With the TDP and ally Jana Sena Party expected to join hands with the BJP, Jagan Reddy and the YSRCP are up against a formidable Opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha and state elections. And if Sharmila is able to make a significant dent to better the Congress share in the upcoming polls itself, Jagan Reddy and his party's future may turn grim.
