In a politically significant development, the Prashant Kishor team on Wednesday called on YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) President Y.S. Sharmila.

The team met Sharmila at her Lotus Pond residence here and they are believed to have discussed the strategy to strengthen and expand the party.

Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, is understood to have discussed with the team the plans for her upcoming ‘padyatra’, route map and future course of action.

The meeting set off speculations that political strategist Prashant Kishor has joined hands with Sharmila to prepare its strategy.

Prashant Kishor and his team had planned and executed the election strategy of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh in 2019, and it had stormed to power by winning 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly.

Sharmila, who floated the YSRTP in July, recently announced that she will undertake the ‘padyatra’ from October 20.

YSRTP leaders have also announced that the party will organise a public meeting for self-respect of backward classes at Kosagi in Kodangal constituency on October 3.

Sharmila’s meeting with the PK team also assumes significance in view of the next month’s bye-election to Huzurabad Assembly constituency. It came a day after the Election Commission announced the election schedule.

In order to highlight the issue of unemployment, the YSRTP has decided to field unemployed individuals in October 30 bye-elections. The party has constituted a committee to file several nominations on behalf of unemployed.

YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader Y.S. Sharmila was detained by police when she was sitting on a fast at Boduppal near here on Tuesday, demanding jobs for the unemployed.

Stating that there is no permission for the fast, police shifted her to the Medipalli police station.

The sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had launched the fast at Boduppal exhibition grounds in Medchal-Malkajgiri district.

Sharmila raised objections to the police action, asking why she was being arrested despite staging a peaceful protest. Police officers told her that there was no permission for the protest.

YSRTP workers tried to resist the arrest and raised slogan against the police and the government, leading to tension in the area.

Women police personnel forcibly lifted Sharmila and shifted to a waiting police vehicle.

YSRTP leaders and workers reached Medipalli police station and sat on the road demanding Sharmila’s release. Police then shifted her to another police station.

The daughter of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy alleged that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government was afraid of her as she was “exposing its failures”. She blamed Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for suicide of scores of unemployed youth.

Before reaching Boduppal exhibition grouns, Sharmila called on the family of Ravindra, an unemployed man who recently committed suicide.

Meanwhile, some women labourers at Peerzadiguda staged a protest, alleging that YSRTP workers had brought them to participate in the hunger strike by promising to pay Rs 400 each. The daily wage labourers said they were not paid the money.

Every Tuesday, Sharmila is sitting on fast after consoling the family of unemployed who committed suicide.

She is demanding the government take immediate steps to fill 1.90 lakh vacancies in various government department. She said the government need to recruit over 3 lakh people to fill the vacancies and the posts created with the formation of new districts.

She claimed 54 lakh unemployed have submitted applications for jobs to the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC).

Sharmila, who launched the YSRTP in July, announced on Monday that she will undertake state-wide ‘padyatra’ from October 20 to highlight the failures of the TRS government.

YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader Y.S. Sharmila announced on Monday that she will be launching her ‘padyatra’ from October 20.

She plans to cover all Assembly constituencies except those coming under the limits of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

The daughter of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy will be launching the walkathon titled ‘Praja Prasthanam’ from Chevella and it will also conclude there.

YSR, as the late Chief Minister was popularly known, had launched his famous padyatra from the same place and with the same title in 2003. The padyatra in then undivided Andhra Pradesh had catapulted the YSR-led Congress to power, ending the nearly a decade-long rule of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) headed by Chandrababu Naidu.

Sharmila, who floated the YSRTP on YSR’s birth anniversary on July 8, announced that she will be covering 12 to 15 km every day.

The sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said YSR will be the brand ambassador of her walkathon. “I am undertaking this padyatra to achieve the ideals of the great leader,” she said.

The YSRTP founder said she would highlight the failures of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government.

She also announced that her weekly fast over the issue of unemployment will continue as part of the ‘padyatra’.

Sharmila has been staging a fast every Tuesday after consoling the family of an unemployed who committed suicide. She vowed to continue the weekly fast till the problem of unemployed was addressed.

She reiterated that she wants to bring back ‘Rajanna rajyam’ in Telangana.

‘Rajanna rajyam’ is referred to the rule of YSR (2004-2009) during which he implemented many revolutionary schemes for welfare of poor and the weaker sections of the society.

Sharmila alleged that during seven-year-rule of K. Chandrasekhar Rao in Telangana, 7,000 farmers have committed suicide and KCR went back on his promise to waive farm loans. She claimed that the TRS government headed by KCR waived loans of only 3,000 farmers were waived while 30 lakh farmers were betrayed.

According to a YSRTP leader, a survey shows that 91 per cent of Telangana farmers have loans of at least Rs 1.5 lakh each.

It seems the honeymoon period for YS Sharmila’s YSRTP is already over. The leaders are deserting and the crowds are thinning. Now the latest is that those in whose name she is undertaking protest fasts every Tuesday are also shunning her. Her attempts to raise the issue of unemployment-related deaths of youth is turning out to be a non-starter.

Sharmila has made it a practice to undertake a fast in selected Telangana villages to highlight the plight of the unemployed youths. She is choosing the houses of the youths who had ended their lives and is dedicating her fast to the youth who died. She is using this opportunity to mount a severe attack on the TRS government.

This Tuesday (August 24), she wanted to undertake her fast in Lingapur village in Dandepalli mandal of Mancherial district. Village lad Naresh is a graduate who failed go get a government job. Frustrated, he ended his life. Sharmila wanted to hold a fast in memory of naresh.

However, she got a shock when Naresh’s father requested her not to come to his house. He said he did not want any sympathy from her. This has left the YSRTP leaders, who were making arrangements for Sharmila’s meeting, shocked. They did not know how to react. Sources say that Naresh’s father has four sons, of whom three are working in different government departments. Naresh reportedly got worried that the protest might put the jobs of the three other sons at risk. Hence he wanted Sharmila not to visit his home and launch the dharna there.

With more leaders resigning from the party, the very existence of YS Sharmila’s YSRTP is now in doubt. After the resignation of high-profile Indira Shobhan, state executive committee members Madhu Vamsi and Srikanth too have sent in their resignations. With several leaders already leaving the party, Sharmila appears to be ploughing a lonely furrow.

Sources said that ever since she announced her state executive, Sharmila has been facing dissidence. Many leaders, who stood with her all these days, suddenly found that there was no place for them in the party. They were shocked to see newcomers take the cake leaving them in the lurch. As a result, many leaders have resigned from the party. Earlier too, key leaders like Pratap Reddy have deserted the party.

Insiders also say that another 20 state-level functionaries too would resign from the party. They pointed out that two to three leaders will resign from the party every day. This would leave Sharmila’s party considerably weakened and emaciated. The interest in Sharmila’s protest fasts has also come down significantly. “She has gradually slipped from the first pages of the newspapers. She is now confined to inside pages,” quipped a YS Sharmila’ supporter.

Another indicator is the dwindling crowds at the YSRTP office at Lotus Pond. The crowds are thinning and the footfalls are shrinking at the party’s state office. The cadres are also complaining about the way they are being treated in the party office and the meetings. Many say Sharmila’s abrasive style and hurling of invectives is alienating the party works, including people like Indira Shobhan.

YS Sharmila is now on her fifth protest fast in as many weeks. On Tuesday, she has chosen Gundenga village in Mahabubnagar to protest on the issue of joblessness in Telangana. While protests are happening with unfailing regularity, what about their impact? Well! The less said the better. Her protests may be making headlines in some friendly media outlets, but the people are largely ignoring them.

According to political watchers, it is ironical that she is talking about jobs at a time when the government is promising schemes like Dalit Bandhu, where huge amounts get deposited in a family’s account without doing anything. The Dalit Bandhu and other freebees are now the toast of the season. Especially since the Nagarjunasagar bypoll, even the youth do not seem to be bothered about jobs. Doles are what they seem to want. Given this situation, will the Sharmila protests have any impact?

Secondly, she is not talking about the two topics that are deemed very hot in political circles. She is not talking about Huzurabad bypolls, which has the attention of the whole state. Secondly, she is not talking about the Dalit Bandhu scheme, which is now being hotly debated. She has completely ignored these two topics. At a time when the TRS, BJP and the Congress are straining their every nerve in Huzurabad, she is not even talking about it. What more? She said she would support any unemployed youth who files nomination in Huzurabad. This only means that she has already given a walkover in Huzurabad..

On the other hand, she is talking about joblessness and unemployment in places like Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar, which are not seeing much political activity. So far, she has carefully avoided places like Nizamabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Medak and Warangal, which are the epicentres of political activity in Telangana. This kind of politics is likely to further marginalise her and reduce her political relevance, say political analysts.

YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) founder Y.S. Sharmila on Saturday alleged that Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) is grabbing land from Dalits to build industries and parks.

“KCR is dragging Dalits on to the roads by grabbing their assigned lands for parks and industries, which they had been tilling for generations,” Sharmila alleged.

She claimed that Rao is feigning love towards Dalits on one hand with ‘Dalita Bandhu’ scheme while on the other, he has started grabbing their lands.

Sharmila demanded to know if KCR will ever change and alleged that he is resorting to land grabbing because the Dalits would not protest against him.

The new opposition leader in Telangana, claimed that Rao failed to give three acres of land to the poor but was grabbing their lands which they have been tilling since their grandparents’ time.

Earlier, she criticised the state government for allegedly slashing teachers’ jobs. Sharmila alleged that government education and healthcare have been destroyed during the seven-year rule of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) government.

Alleging that nearly 7,000 teachers jobs have been lost, she claimed that KCR doesn’t know how to rule and he was a disgrace to the Chief Minister’s chair.

Former united Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s daughter and founder of YSR Telangana Party, Sharmila, on Friday lashed out at Congress leaders for trying to appropriate the late leader and said that they introduced his name in the FIR.

Sharmila recalled that it were the same Congress leaders who introduced Reddy’s name in the FIR after his death and criticized their attempts to own him up now.

By invoking FIR, Reddy’s daughter is referring to the multiple alleged corruption cases slapped against her brother and current Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy by the then Congress government in the state as well as the Centre, in some of which Rajasekhar Reddy was also mentioned as an accused.

She said the former CM gave political birth to many Congress leaders.

Meanwhile, the newest party founder denied speculation that she has started a political party in Telangana only because she was denied an MP ticket in Andhra Pradesh.

“I reiterate, the reason for me to establish a party in Telangana is for the welfare of the people. Telangana people are being meted out justice,” said Sharmila.

According to the YSR Telangana Party founder, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has not achieved anything in the past seven years and that she has been observing it.

“Unemployment rate rose four fold in seven years. Our state is at the top in unemployment. Similar case with farmers’ suicides. What did they do with billions of rupees debt? Did they build a house or offer a job to anyone?” Sharmila posed.

She said KCR has misused the opportunity given to him and questioned as to whose pockets were filled with this money.

“Nearly 54 lakh people have applied to the government that they are unemployed. If 54 lakh people have applied, imagine how many more have not applied?” Sharmila observed.

The opposition leader alleged that ‘KCR’s bathroom has been made bulletproof’ and queried if unemployed youths’ lives don’t matter?

She reasoned that there is a need for her to establish a political party and offer her fighting spirit to the people of Telangana for their welfare but not because she did not get any post in Andhra Pradesh.

“This is not true, not true, not true. I am telling you again and again,” she clarified.

Sharmila said a political party means its activists, leaders and that it is an organisation. She said a party is an establishment and it should happen if someone is there or not.

She noted that YSR Telangana Party should continue whether she is present or not and highlighted that there is the name of ‘YSR’ in her party.

“We established this party for the ambitions of the great leader (YSR) and not because I was angry at someone. I reiterate, please don’t bring this issue up again,” she added.