Jagan’s sister hints at floating new party

Y.S. Sharmila, daughter of former CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and sister of Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, waves at her supporters in front of her residence in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Ms Sharmila held talks with her late father’s sympathisers, triggering speculation that she might start a political party in Telangana.

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s sister, Y.S. Sharmila, is likely to float a separate political outfit in Telangana, parting ways with her brother who is not supportive of her move. Andhra government officials, however, maintain that there is “no personal rift” between the two.

Ms Sharmila came out of near political hibernation Tuesday to hold a meeting with a hundred-odd party workers from Nalgonda district at the office of Jagan-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Hyderabad.

“My intention is to speak to leaders and the cadre from all the districts and understand the ground realities,” Sharmila told the media after the meeting. “There is no Rajanna Rajyam (YSR rule) in Telangana and we want to understand why… We will bring back YSR rule here.”

This is the first time that Ms Sharmila has held a political meeting since the 2019 assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh when she campaigned for her brother.

What has puzzled political observers is the fact that the YSRCP was hardly involved in organising the meeting. Jagan’s picture was also conspicuously absent from the posters.

Andhra government officials, however, insist that the siblings have not fallen out. “There is no personal rift between the chief minister and his sister — they are family. That being said, there could have been ideological differences between both,” Andhra government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said Tuesday.