HYDERABAD: The Aatmeeya Sammelanam, organised by Vijayamma on Thursday in memory of her husband YS Rajasekhara Reddy who died in a helicopter crash on this day 12 years ago, does not appear to have served the purpose which it was intended for — to shore up the prospects of her daughter Sharmila’s political outfit in Telangana.
As the meeting commenced, it had acquired all the trappings of a strategy gone horribly wrong with no leader worth his salt turning up. The meeting by and large ended up as a damp squib. The speeches of those who attended the meeting, extolling the virtues of the late YSR, were dull and humdrum.
Sharmila, for her part, did not try to camouflage the purpose of the memorial meeting. Dropping enough hints that it was intended to further her political cause, she said: “I will fight for Telangana and its cause. I will follow late YSR’s path in developing the State. I will be his true follower and bring Rajanna Rajyam.”
Sharmila who has launched her YSRTP in Telangana to fight KCR’s “tyranny” and take on BJP and the Congress, has been trying to promote her brand by undertaking tours across the State. But so far she has not been able to gain much traction with the people of Telangana, despite the fact that YSR was the darling of the masses in his heyday.
As the late YSR’s saturation concept in extending welfare programmes to all the beneficiaries captured the imagination of the people, they rallied behind him despite his strong anti-Telangana credentials. But when it came to Sharmila, they do not seem to be so gung-ho about her and she appeared keen on fixing this grey area with her father’s legacy by organising his memorial.
The purpose of the Aatmeeya Sammelan became quite obvious since it was conceived because it was happening for the first time in Hyderabad and that too after Sharmila launched her political outfit and as the Assembly elections are drawing near. As no memorial meetings are held to mark the passage of 12 years, it became all the more clear that Sharmila has her her own political axe to grind.
Said one leader who did not want his name quoted: “Late YSR has ascended to heaven. Now both the mother and daughter want to bring him down to earth to benefit from the goodwill he built for himself. But it is an exercise in futility as their gameplan is as clear as daylight.”Vijayamma and Sharmila had high hopes on the meeting and invited all the leaders who were in late YSR’s Cabinet as well as those who were close to the late CM.
Except for YSR’s alter ego KVP Ramachandra Rao, former MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar, former APCC president N Raghuveera Reddy and Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, no important politician turned up.
As the meeting had political overtones, the APCC and TPCC issued a directive to leaders against attending the meeting. This further discouraged those who may have toyed with idea of peeping in to check what was happening.
