'No Eye Contact': Jagan & Sharmila's 'Sibling Rivalry' Creates Buzz at Family Event as Electoral Battles Loom

That siblings Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president YS Sharmila purportedly avoided eye contact at a family event on Thursday has set political circles abuzz. The two leaders were present at the engagement function of YS Raja Reddy, son of YS Sharmila, with Atluri Priya, at Golconda Resorts in Gandipet, Telangana.

Jagan Mohan Reddy and his wife YS Bharathi Reddy reached the venue without much fanfare. While proceeding towards the would-be couple, he had a small chat with some relatives at the venue and also hugged a few of them. Later the CM and his wife conveyed their best wishes to the bride and the groom and also blessed them.

However, reports on social media suggest Jagan didn’t have eye contact with his sister Sharmila when he met her at the venue. They added that the two exchanged a few courteous words but the earlier love and affection were missing during the interaction between the siblings.

The family event came soon after YS Sharmila joining the Congress and becoming its state unit chief in Andhra Pradesh this month.

According to sources present at the engagement venue, Jagan and Sharmila’s mother YS Vijayamma seemed extremely happy when her son hugged her with love and affection. At the same time, they said, her eyes reflected sadness perhaps because of the political differences that have cropped up between her two children.

Political analysts feel that the discord between the siblings will not go away soon. At the same, they expect the two to make a public show of camaraderie after seeing the sadness of their mother.

Jagan and Sharmila are the children of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh. After the death of his father in a 2009 helicopter crash, Jagan wanted to become the CM. But the Congress high command didn’t consider his proposal and Jagan launched a new political outfit Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) and contested in the 2014 assembly elections without any tie-ups.

His party faced defeat in the polls though his sister Sharmila and mother Vijayamma backed him and played a key role in the campaign. They did the same in the 2019 elections, and this time YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was victorious, becoming the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for the first time.

According to YSRCP sources, disagreements cropped up between Sharmila and Jagan over various reasons including property disputes and no posts being offered to the former either in the party or the government.

Amid speculation of Jagan using her to disrupt Telangana politics, Sharmila tried to test the waters in the state by launching her own political outfit, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party (YSRTP). She zealously toured in the newly formed state on foot, mirroring her late father YS Rajasekhara Reddy who brought the Congress to power in 2004 after conducting a padayatra across then undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Sharmila tried to contest in the recent assembly elections in Telangana by taking other parties into confidence. However, no political party wanted to tie up with the YSRTP. She then decided to shift her political base to Andhra Pradesh.

Taking everyone by surprise and creating ripples in her brother Jagan’s party YSRCP, Sharmila met Karnataka state Congress president and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar. She then met top Congress leaders in Delhi and merged YSRTP with the grand old party on January 4.

In a bid to give itself a new lease of life in Andhra Pradesh and keeping an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Congress high command appointed Sharmila the state unit president. The surprise move has widened the differences between Jagan and Sharmila. Now the stage is set for the siblings to battle each other in the upcoming elections.