YSR Telangana Party leader Sharmila formally joins Congress

Y.S. Sharmila, the daughter of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and the founder of the YSR Telangana Party, joined the Congress in New Delhi on Thursday. She also announced the merger of the YSR Telangana Congress with the Congress, and said she would fulfil any responsibility given to her.

Sharmila joined the Congress in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party president Rahul Gandhi. Lauding the Congress, she said it is the largest secular party in the country as it unwaveringly serves all communities and unites all sections of people.

After chairing her party meeting on Tuesday in Hyderabad, Sharmila had said she and other leaders would meet the top leadership of the Congress, including Kharge, and make a "crucial" announcement in Delhi.

Sharmila is the younger sister of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. She said it was her father's dream to see Rahul Gandhi as prime minister and that she would be happy to contribute to it.

Sharmila said she was happy that she was part of the Congress victory in Telangana. She had announced her support to the Congress during the recent assembly polls in Telangana to end the "corrupt and anti-people rule of the BRS" led by previous chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.