Y. S. Sharmila Appointed as President of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee
Amaravati, January 16: The Congress has named Y. S. Sharmila as the new president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). The appointment comes following the resignation of Gidugu Rudra Raju from the position, paving the way for Sharmila to take charge.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), made the announcement, concurrently appointing Rudra Raju as a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC).
Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and daughter of former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, expressed gratitude to Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and K. C. Venugopal for entrusting her with the APCC presidency. Having recently merged the YSR Telangana Party with the Congress on January 4, Sharmila pledged to diligently work towards restoring the party’s former glory in Andhra Pradesh.
She thanked AICC in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Manickam Tagore and expressed eagerness to collaborate closely with every Congress member. Sharmila sought the support of Rudra Raju and other party leaders in the state, emphasizing her commitment to building on their experience and expertise to achieve common goals.
Joining the Congress on January 4, Sharmila recalled her father YSR’s lifelong dedication to the party and his dream of seeing Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister. While she had actively campaigned for the YSR Congress Party in the 2019 elections, Sharmila felt marginalized by Jagan after the party’s victory.
In 2021, she entered politics in Telangana, forming the YSR Telangana Party. Despite not contesting the recent Telangana Assembly elections, Sharmila claimed a strategic decision to contribute to the Congress victory by withholding her party from contesting and avoiding a division of anti-KCR votes.
