Sharmila has ‘final say’ in AP Congress

APCC chief Y.S. Sharmila is wielding her influence heavily on the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh so much so that names of only those proposed by her are being considered by the high command for various key positions in the party.

This led to complaints that Sharmila is being discriminatory against some leaders and implementing her own agenda, sidelining the party’s conditions at the grassroots-level, which could prove detrimental to the party in the long run.

It is worth noting that there are some women leaders among those who lodged complaint with the party high command, regarding the same. However, leaders at the helm of affairs in the Congress have ignored the complaints and instead, removed the complainants themselves from the party.

According to sources, Sharmila has gone to Delhi with a list of 60 names suggesting that they be given some key positions in the state Congress unit, for developing the party and readying to fight the next Assembly elections.

Usually, the national-level leaders have a high influence on the state-level leaders but this time around, it is reported that none of the leaders from Andhra Pradesh met them furtively. Sharmila seems to be playing a pivotal role in the Andhra Pradesh Congress party.

However, it is being said that despite such heavy influence, only Sharmila had benefited due to her pro-active tactics but the party could not perform well to improve its image in the public. This is evident in the fact that the party could not witness the expected 20-30 per cent rise in the vote bank, during the 2024 Assembly elections.

Congress veterans Sunkara Padma and Pallam Raju have been trying to highlight the failure of Sharmila but to no avail. Sharmila is arguing that she had taken charge of the party just three months ago and needs more time to prove herself.

The Congress high command also has taken her words into consideration and is likely to finalise the names proposed by her for various key positions in the party.

In all likelihood, Raghuveera Reddy would be appointed the AP Congress vice-president, as proposed by Sharmila.