YS Sharmila denies reports of appointment as Andhra's Congress chief

Hyderabad: Y.S. Sharmila, YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader on Friday denied the media reports that she is going to be appointed as the Andhra Pradesh Congress President.

She has also denied receiving any proposal for the Congress Rajya Sabha ticket from Karnataka and made it clear that she is committed to the cause of Telangana and would continue to fight for the people of the region.

Sharmila, the sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, added that her future lies in Telangana and with its people.

"I was always in Telangana and will be in Telangana till my last breath. I request speculators to stop making paper plans about my future and instead write about the issues pertaining to the people of my state Telangana and highlight the misrule and massive corruption of KCR, his family, and his party members," Sharmila tweeted.

There have been speculations of Sharmila merging her party with the Congress or aligning with the grand-old party ahead of the Assembly elections in Telangana scheduled later this year.

Sharmila's meeting with D. K. Shivakumar after the latter become Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka had triggered massive speculations.

Amid the growing buzz about the likely merger of YSRTP with the Congress, Sharmila on June 19 greeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his birthday.

Sources had confirmed talks between Sharmila and Congress leaders for the merger deal. Sharmila, daughter of former United Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), is said to be ready to merge the party.

In return, the Congress has offered her and a couple of her close supporters tickets to contest the Telangana Assembly polls.

Sharmila has already declared that she will contest from the Palair constituency in Khammam district.

With inputs from IANS