Hyderabad: In a much-expected turn of events, YS Sharmila’s YSR Telangana Party had withdrawn from contesting in the state Assembly election fray in favour of Congress.
Speaking to the press on Friday at her party office, YS Sharmila said this was done to ensure the Congress vote is not split, as several surveys have been pointing to that.
Taking a dig at KCR, Sharmila said, “In these nine and half years, people have witnessed how Telangana’s wealth has been siphoned off due to the greed and tyranny of one family. A rich state at formation is now burdened with heavy debt, due to the massive corruption of KCR and his cronies.”
“With more and more revelations on their corruption and misrule seeing the light of the day, we see the dire need for all like-minded parties to put up a joint effort in the best interest of the people of Telangana,” added the YSRTP chief.
“As per many surveys and ground reports, it has been felt that our participation in the Assembly elections will directly impact the vote share of Congress in many constituencies. Therefore, YSRTP has decided to make the sacrifice of not contesting in the elections,” reasoned Sharmila.
Party cadre upset
Uncertainty loomed over the party cadre for the past few days over Sharmila’s silence as she failed to announce candidature even after the day for nomination filing had arrived.
Stating that Sharmila had cheated the party, the party leaders staged a protest in Jubilee Hills on Thursday, November 2.
Sharmila had announced to contest solo
This comes after Sharmila’s recent announcement that she will solo contest in 119 constituencies and called upon leaders to gear up for the poll race.
Subsequently, the YSRTP leaders held internal meetings at Lotus Pond, hoping to get tickets.
With binoculars as YSRTP symbol, Sharmila’s hunt for candidates sees no end
It was reportedly decided in the high-level activist meeting conducted recently, that the party would be contesting 50 seats. However, reports now suggest that the party won’t be contesting at all.
It was speculated in October that Sharmila would merge her party with the Congress’s Telangana unit. It was also speculated that her mother Vijayamma would contest from the Secunderabad seat.
Though she invited applications from leaders to contest the elections, the party received little response even after weeks the announcement was made.
Sharmila’s party was also allocated a ‘binocular’ symbol by the ECI for the state Assembly elections due on November 30.
Furthermore, Sharmila also attempted to merge the YSRTP with the Congress, to grab a few seats. However, her trial went in vain.
