YS Sharmila meets Sonia Gandhi, says 'KCR's countdown has begun'
There has been speculation about Sharmila moving closer to Congress since she met DK Shivakumar to hail the party's Karnataka triumph
YS Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, on Thursday met Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi amid speculation that she will merge her YSRTP with the Congress.
There has been speculation about Sharmila moving closer to the Congress since she met Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in May in Bengaluru to hail the Congress triumph in Karnataka assembly polls.
“Met Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Constructive discussions took place. The daughter of (former Andhra Pradesh chief minister) YS Rajasekhar Reddy will relentlessly work towards benefiting Telangana people,” she said.
“I can say one thing, the countdown for KCR (Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao) has begun,” she told the media in New Delhi, ahead of assembly elections in Telangana.
When contacted, YSR Telangana Congress party’s spokesperson Konda Raghava Reddy said no one in YSRTP – which Sharmila formed in 2021 -- were aware of her Delhi trip and her meeting with the Gandhis.
Sharmila had earlier said that she will contest from Palair Assembly constituency in Telangana. She campaigned for Jagan Mohan Reddy in the 2019 Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh and later floated her party YSRTP in Telangana.
(With agency inputs)
