YS Sharmila will be in Delhi on Wednesday a day ahead of the merger of her party with the Congress. Sharmila and other top leaders of her party will meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi before the formal announcement. This is a significant move for the Congress after its first victory in neighbouring Telangana led by Revanth Reddy. Sharmila tying up with the Congress will make the Andhra Pradesh assembly election this year interesting as according to reports, Sharmila may be made the in-charge of elections for southern states.
Here are 10 things to know about YS Sharmila
1. 49-year-old Sharmila is the daughter of former Andhra Pradesh (undivided) chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and the sister of present CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.
2. After YSR’s death in a plane crash in 2009 that triggered suicide among his followers, Jagan started a state tour which was not supported by the Congress leadership. This was when Jagan and his mother YS Vijayamma resigned from the Congress and started YSR Congress.
3. Sharmila was also a part of YSR Congress until 2021 when she started her party in Telangana YSR Telangana Party. When Jagan was in jail in 2012 for a prolonged period, Sharmila took the reins of the YSRC.
4. In the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly election, Sharmila campaigned for his brother,
5. A year after Sharmila floated a new party, her mother YS Vijayamma resigned from her son’s YSRC and announced support for Sharmila’s party.
6. Sharmila’s party did not contest the Telangana election in tacit support to the Congress.
7. Earlier, Sharmila said her interest is in Telangana and she did not want to venture into Andhra Pradesh as his brother Jagan was doing a good job there.
8. Sharmila is married to evangelist Brother Anil Kumar. Anil Kumar was a Hindu and converted to Christianity after his marriage to Sharmila in 1995 as YSR’s family is Christian. In 1998, Anl Kumar became an evangelist.
9. Sharmila and Anil have two children — Raja Reddy and Anjili Reeddy.
10. Raja Reddy will tie the knot to Atluri Priya on February 17. Priya is the granddaughter of Chutneys food chain owner Atluri Vijaya Venkata Prasad. YS Raja Reddy and Priya Atluri met while pursuing their masters in the US.
