YSRTP to merge with Congress tomorrow

Guntur: It appears that the efforts of the ruling YSRCP to see that YSRTP chief Y S Sharmila does not join the Congress had not fructified.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Sharmila made it clear that she was going to Delhi by a special flight on Wednesday and would be joining the Congress party on Thursday.

She will meet Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge at the meeting of the Congress Chief Ministers, PCC presidents, leaders of Legislature Parties and Congress Working Committee members to discuss the roadmap for the Lok Sabha polls and would announce the merger of YSRTP. Later, she would address the media in New Delhi. The YSRTP chief said in Telangana the Congress had won easily because her party had decided not to contest the elections. If the YSRTP had put up candidates, the votes would have got divided and Congress would have faced some problems, she said.

She said she was happy that the Congress which was the only secular party in the country had recognised her work and hence she has decided to join the Congress.

Meanwhile, sources said for the present, the AICC may use her services for the coming Assembly elections as a star campaigner and make her one of the AICC general secretaries. She will also participate in the public meetings to be held at Vizag, Vijayawada and Tirupati.

PCC president Gidugu Rudraraju said the Congress would welcome her and would utilise her services.

On the other hand, irked by the reports that he had tried to broker peace with Sharmila, YSRCP leader Y V Subba Reddy said the reports were all speculations spread by the anti-YSRCP social media.

He said he goes to Hyderabad once in a month or so and whenever he goes, he meets Y S Vijayamma to discuss family issues. Similarly, he called on her on Sunday but it has nothing to do with Sharmila’s decision to join the Congress, he said. “It is a baseless allegation by the agenda-driven media houses, he added.

Subba Reddy said it does not matter who campaigns against Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. The YSRCP cannot be defeated as Jagan is the people’s CM who has been successfully implementing the welfare schemes.