YS Sharmila’s gifts to Nara Lokesh; Big embarrassment on Christmas Day to YS Jagan

AMARAVATI: It's a big embarrassment to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on the festival day of Christmas as his sister and founder of YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) YS Sharmila sent Christmas gifts to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh and family.

Lokesh even acknowledged by thanking her on his X (formerly Twitter). “Dear @reayssharmila Garu, please accept my heartfelt thanks for wonderful Christmas gifts. Nara family wishes you and your family Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,” the TDP general secretary said. For the first time, the duo exchanged pleasantries on the occasion of Christmas.

YS Sharmila’s Christmas gifts to her brother YS Jagan's rival, Nara Lokesh, created a flutter in the political circles of Andhra Pradesh. For several decades, YS Rajasekhara Reddy's family was united. Even after his death, son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, daughter YS Sharmila stayed as one family in politics too.

In June 2012, YS Sharmila hit the headlines after she took up campaigning on behalf of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) along with her mother YS Vijayamma after her brother YS Jagan was arrested in disproportionate assets (DA) case.

In October 2012, YS Sharmila began her 3,000-km walkathon at Idupulapaya in Kadapa district. She completed it on August 4, 2013 in Ichchapuram and toured 14 districts as part of the walkathon.

After her padyatra, YS Sharmila stood by her YS Jagan. Though after Jagan parted ways with the Congress, his uncle YS Vivekananda Reddy joined the Kiran Kumar Reddy Government, after the State separation, he bagan standing by his side.

Before the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, YS Sharmila undertook an 11-day bus Yatra across Andhra Pradesh with a slogan “Bye Bye Babu” timer clock, suggesting that it was time for then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The campaign under the name “Praja Theerpu - Bye Bye Babu” covered 1,553 km and 39 public addresses.

YS Vivekananda Reddy was murdered in March 2019. After the YSRCP came to power in the 2019 Assembly elections, YS Sharmila remained her brother's younger sister. However, differences cropped up between the duo after sometime and instantly she reached out to Jagan's bete noire and media owner V Radha Krishna. It was through his newspaper she began surreptitiously leaking news about her breaking away with her brother and launching a political party on her own in Telangana.

In February 2021, YS Sharmila announced that she had developed differences with her brother YS Jagan and claimed that there was no presence of the party in Telangana. On July 8, 2021, she announced the launch of YSR Telangana Party.

After announcing the party, Sharmila declared that her party would fight against the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and even made caustic remarks against then TPCC president A Revanth Reddy. She even toured several districts in Telangana to expose the failures of the BRS Government. Initially, YS Sharmila considerer the ides of merging her party into the Indian National Congress and she had met Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi at New Delhi in September. It was speculated that she would announce the merger at Tukkuguda Public meeting of the Congress in the presence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. But Revanth Reddy scuttled her foray into the party very meticulously.

When YS Sharmila’s efforts proved futile and she had announced that her party would independently contest in all the 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana, observers thought she would cut into the Congress vote even by a small percentage.

However, shr withdrew her decision and extended her support to the Congress. There was also a speculation for some time that YS Sharmila would be "honoured" with a suitable post in the Congress party and that she would be used for strengthening the party in Andhra Pradesh.

While her future hangs in balance, her popularity ebbed to rockbottom on credibility metrics.

Rajasekhara Reddy’s family disintegrated forcing the late Chief Minister’s wife Vijayamma to take care of her both children, though she veers more towards the daughter.

The Christmas Day embarrassment caused by Sharmila when she reached out to Jagan’s sworn enemy, she became a spectacle in front of all. But, Nara Lokesh demonstrated his magnanimity, though to his own political advantage, by acknowledging her gesture of sending gifts - a never-before act of camaraderie.

Vijayamma’s presence with Jagan in Christmas prayers was the only saving grace even as the State was at its threshold of elections.