Y S Sharmila, daughter of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and incumbent CM Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who has been
busy with the launch of her new political party in Telangana, today announced that she would be contesting from Khammam's Paleru Assembly constituency in the 2024 Assembly elections in the state.
She made the announcement while meeting a group of her supporters from Khammam at her Lotus Pond residence this morning. At the meeting, she also reportedly discussed the strategies that the party, set to be launched on April 9, would employ to strengthen itself in Telangana.
Explaining her choice, the leader said, "Paleru holds the same place in my heart that Andhra Pradesh's Pulivendula held in my father's. That is why I have chosen to contest for the Palueru seat."
A more immediate issue facing Sharmila however is her party's much-hyped launch. The grand launch might be derailed by the recent spurt in Covid-19 cases in the state and across the nation. The organisers are yet to get police permission for the massive public meeting for the launch, which will be held in Khammam.
Sharmila's decision to break away from the YSR Congress Party in AP confirms the many rumours about the fallout between YSR's two children. In fact, Sharmila even said as much at a recent press event. Citing "political differences" with her brother, Jagan, as the primary reason for her decision to float a new party, she even asked the media to question the incumbent CM about why he had not given her any importance in the YSRCP.
Meanwhile, rumours suggest that her new party will
likely be called YSR Telangana Party in an obvious tribute to her father, and perhaps in a bold reclamation of his legacy (her brother's party, the ruling party in AP, is called the YSR Congress Party).