After the bifurcation of the state, the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh is facing a serious leadership crisis. Since it has been 10 years since the bifurcation, the party is mostly confined to media conferences due to the lack of leadership to bring some enthusiasm into the party so that the people forget those wounds.
There is a situation where it has to compete with NOTA in successive elections.Those were benefited during YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s regime, without any gross-root presence, are now said to be preventing the party high-command to encourage potential leaders, who can mobilize mass support to the party.
It is noteworthy that a person who served as the PCC president recently joined the YSRCP. Even the party hopes to bring a life handing over leadership to YSR’s daughter YS Sharmila failed miserably. Many felt at a time when her brother YS Jaganmohan Reddy was Chief Minister, she could bring enthusiasm into the party.
But contrary to expectations under her leadership the party is facing an existential crisis in the state. The Congress party’s expectations to use Rajasekhar Reddy’s image to benefit by putting Sharmila in front failed to yield any positive results.
Now the situation of the Congress in the state has become worse than it was before. The party leaders themselves say that there is no evidence that YS Sharmila is actually paying any attention to the affairs of the state Congress.
After the crushing defeat of the YSRCP in the last year’s elections, Congress expected many YSRCP leaders to join Congress. But nothing that happens. Moreover, some dissident leaders are moving towards TDP, Jana Sena and BJP.
Apart from attracting YSRCP leaders joining the Congress, Sharmila is not doing anything like ignoring the existing leaders and hardly.focusing on party affairs. Moreover, she has been purposefully pushing away hard-core party leaders like Sunkara Padmasri, who were known for their ‘street fights’ against anti-people policies of the state government, from party activities.
In recent months Sharmila has rarely stepped foot in the party office and except for making some eye-rolling statements against the state government failures, she hardly moves around questioning government policies.
Many Congress activists in the party feel that it is high time for the party high-command to realize ground realities in AP and bring a new leadership, who are committed to bring new life into the party, without any ulterior motives or `behind the screen’ attachments with other parties.
