YS Sharmila Appointed Andhra Pradesh Congress Chief After Rudra Raju Steps Down

Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy's sister YS Sharmila joined the Congress on 4 January.

YS Sharmila, who recently merged her YSR Telangana Party with the Congress, has been appointed the chief of the Andhra Pradesh unit of the grand old party.

The appointment comes after Gidugu Rudra Raju resigned from the post of the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Monday, 15 January.

What did the Congress say? A letter from the AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, dated Tuesday, 16 January, states: "Hon'ble Congress President has appointed Smt. Y.S. Sharmila Reddy as the President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect."

The letter adds that Gidugu Rudra Raju, the outgoing chief of the APCC, has been appointed as a Special Invitee to the Congress Working Committee.

What does this mean? Sharmila, the daughter of late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, would be facing off against her brother and incumbent CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. She joined the Congress party on 4 January, in the presence of AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi.

Sharmila was once active in the YSR Congress, the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh led by Jagan. She had even undertaken a marathon padayatra in the wake of central agencies arresting Jagan on corruption allegations.

However, the brother-sister duo subsequently fell apart. Sources close to Sharmila allege that Jagan was not ready to accommodate her – and there are credible reports of intra-family disputes over the massive wealth the late CM's family allegedly owns. You can read more about this here.

Why you should read on: The Congress in Andhra Pradesh, which has not had much luck in the state after the bifurcation of AP and Telangana in 2014, has been trying to rope in Sharmila since before the recently concluded Telangana Assembly elections.

Though she initially planned to contest alongside the Congress in Telangana, the party was reportedly adamant that she took over the reigns in Andhra Pradesh.