YS Sharmila, who joined the Congress a few months ago, finds herself in the poll battle for the Lok Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. Pitted against her own brother Jagan Mohan Reddy, Sharmila, in a no-holds barred interview, opens up on why she chose to go to the Congress, her clearing up misunderstandings with Sonia Gandhi and why she feels power has gone to her brother’s head.
The daughter of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, the late YS Rajasekhar Reddy, will take on YSRCP candidate Avinash Reddy from Kadapa in the upcoming elections. Avinash is also Sharmila’s cousin. The feud between the family was created after Sharmila and her cousin accused Avinash of being responsible for the murder of Jagan’s uncle in 2019 just ahead of the elections.
Edited Excerpts:
It’s your first election. Are you feeling confident or nervous?
This has come as a complete surprise to me, given that I’m contesting from Kadapa. It wouldn’t have come to this had my own brother (YS Jagan Mohan Reddy) not chosen to field my cousin (Avinash Reddy) from here. Avinash is an accused in my uncle’s murder.
Many people want to know why you decided to join the Congress as the popular opinion is that the party was very unfair to your family after your father’s demise.
There were misunderstandings that had to be cleared. When I met Sonia Gandhi ahead of the Telangana elections last year before joining the party, I asked her why the name of my father was included in the CBI chargesheet [accusing him of corruption]. She told me she did not intend to do that. She also told me the respect that she had for my late father. She told me she could understand my pain as she had seen her own husband being named in a chargesheet in a case after his death. Later, a Congress leader spilled the beans and told me that an advocate went to three courts to get my late father’s name added to the chargesheet. It was done at the behest of my brother to get relief in all cases. Interestingly, within six days of becoming the chief minister, my brother promoted this advocate to the position of AAG. This was truly shocking for me.
Why is there so much animosity between the two of you?
I was very close to my brother and worked very closely with him, including holding the Padayatra for more than 3,200 kilometres to establish him as the leader of YSRCP. But once he sat on the chair of the chief minister, he was a completely changed man. I could not recognise my brother anymore. He did not care much about the ideology and other commitments, including ensuring justice for my cousin Sunita whose father was murdered. All the fingers were pointing at Avinash. I tried to convince my brother that we have to give support to Sunita, who is demanding justice for her father and that if she’s not happy with the probe by the state government, we must order a CBI enquiry. But he chose to look the other way. A lot of things kept on piling up and now it has come to this.
Your brother alleges that you have fallen into this trap laid by Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy and that you will lose your deposit in this election.
It is ridiculous to think Naidu and Reddy impacted my decision. Can my brother prove anything? I met Naidu only once in my lifetime inspired by my father. My father had invited him to my wedding, and he graciously came. In the same spirit, I went to invite him for my child’s marriage. For this wedding, I invited all leaders from TRS and Pawan Kalyan. It seems my brother is obsessed with Naidu. He thinks that anything that PM Narendra Modi is doing is also inspired by Naidu. If my brother is feeling so bad about me contesting the elections from Kadapa, all he needs to do is ask his candidate to withdraw. This was the same request made to him by my aunt (wife of her uncle who was allegedly murdered). If he is so confident that I will lose my deposit from here, then why is it that his wife and entire team are canvassing for Avinash? If it was clear-cut, there was no need to campaign for Avinash.
Do you think the government has worked towards the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh?
It has been 10 years since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Chandrababu Naidu and Jagan Mohan Reddy have delivered nothing. People of the state feel cheated because both these parties are hand-in-glove with BJP and are supporting BJP for reasons best known to them. Both claimed that they will bring the BJP on its knees with their demand for special status. But none of them have said anything on that. If special status was given to Andhra Pradesh, it would benefit us in a big way economically. We would be in a position to compare our growth with the neighbouring states. Just giving doles is not good governance. In fact, prices have gone up, including those of petrol and diesel, compared to neighbouring states. Reddy made multiple promises of welfare for farmers etc but delivered nothing.
What about the criticism coming your way for ensuring reservation for the Muslim community?
This was something my father thought for long and implemented to ensure that the weakest section of society was uplifted. If reservation can be given on the basis of caste, then why not religion? Who will bring up the weakest community and ensure the future of the children? Why should the BJP object? We do not need BJP to lecture us on religion and vote bank. The prime minister himself uses religion for appeasement. Wasn’t Lord Ram existent before they came to power? This appeasement in the name of religion is going to get more and more aggressive if the BJP comes to power again.
Did you ever think that you’d be contesting Lok Sabha elections?
The Congress thinks I can be useful in Andhra Pradesh so I am contesting elections from here. In the first place, I never even thought of joining politics. Life has always been a bag of surprises for me. Both the TDP and YSR Congress have an understanding with BJP. They have not demanded special status, which is oxygen for our state. There is a voice that is needed for the cause of the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Congress seems to be the right platform to raise that voice and therefore, I decided to contest elections.
Who, according to you, is the political heir of your late father?
We are both, undisputedly, his children and there is nothing like one will have to carry forward his political legacy. Both of us can do our own thing in our own way. The only thing is that we have to make our father proud and I can certainly say I am on that path.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.