It has been quite some time since Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y S Sharmila has been seen actively engaging in party programmes aimed at reviving the Congress or strengthening its base in the state. At a time when her brother, YSR Congress Party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, has stepped up his political offensive against the ruling Telugu Desam Party–led coalition in a bid to reclaim power, Sharmila continues to struggle to carve out a distinct political identity of her own.
The Congress high command had appointed Sharmila as the APCC chief with the clear objective of positioning her as a counterweight to Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh. Her campaign during the 2023 elections, which largely focused on targeting the YSRCP leadership, did create some political buzz. However, criticism soon emerged even within Congress circles that Sharmila had concentrated excessively on attacking Jagan while largely ignoring the NDA alliance, both at the Centre and in the state.
Realising that prolonged inactivity could push her to the margins of state politics, Sharmila appears to have decided to regain visibility through sustained political action. As part of this effort, she met senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in New Delhi on Tuesday.
According to sources, Sharmila placed a key proposal before Rahul Gandhi related to launching a major agitation centred on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). She urged Rahul to attend the programme as the chief guest, highlighting that February 2 marks 20 years since the landmark employment guarantee scheme was introduced. With the Centre recently taking several decisions on MGNREGS that Congress strongly opposes, the party is gearing up for protests and renewed mobilisation on the issue.
Following the meeting, Sharmila stated that Rahul Gandhi had assured her of his visit to Andhra Pradesh and active participation in the party’s agitation. She announced that the movement would be launched from Bandlapalli village in Anantapur district, the very place where the scheme was formally inaugurated during the tenure of her father, late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
Political observers point out that the initiative carries strong symbolic value, as Sharmila is attempting to revive a programme closely associated with her father’s legacy. With the NDA currently in power both at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi’s decision to launch a major movement from the state is expected to have wider political and strategic implications for Congress going forward.
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