The YS Sharmila-led YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) is unlikely to contest the upcoming Telangana Assembly polls. While an official announcement is yet to come, YSRTP cadre reportedly held a sit-in protest at their party office in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills on Thursday, November 2, after learning of the development, which comes after months of speculation that Sharmila would merge her party with the Congress’s Telangana unit. However, that prospect fell through, and it is unlikely that Sharmila, who earlier had announced that she would contest from the Palair seat, will now contest the election at all.

Earlier on October 12, Sharmila’s party had announced that it would contest the Telangana Assembly elections. It was then speculated that her mother Vijayamma would also contest from the Secunderabad seat. Sharmila, who is the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and daughter of former Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, had taken the decision after trying to negotiate a merger with the Congress. 

While some Congress leaders were ready to welcome her, others like Telangana unit chief A Revanth Reddy said that she was welcome to join and work with the Andhra Pradesh unit instead. In spite of months of negotiations with senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) members, Sharmila however could not achieve a merger deal. The YSRTP’s latest decision however is likely to benefit the Congress, as it will not split opposition votes against the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Sharmila had floated the YSRTP in 2021 after a fallout with her brother in Andhra Pradesh during and after the 2019 state Assembly and parliamentary elections. 

Read: Father YSR’s legacy, rift with brother Jagan: Tracing Sharmila’s political journey