YSR Telangana Party president Y S Sharmila is all set to join the Congress Party. She is likely to join the party in the presence of AICC president Mallikharjuna Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka on January 4 in Delhi.

She is holding a meeting of the party leaders in Hyderabad on Tuesday and is scheduled to announce her party’s merger with the Congress at the meeting. She is also likely to take around 50 senior leaders of the party into Congress.

There is a lot of debate in the political circles that she would be used in Andhra Pradesh to get back the Congress vote bank. The Congress’ traditional vote bank had gone to the YSR Congress in the state along with the leaders. Several Congress leaders have joined the YSR Congress deserting the Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh.

Now, the Congress is eyeing those votes and wants to use Sharmila, the daughter of late Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, to get the votes. She was asked to hold two meetings – one in Visakhapatnam and the other in Vijayawada for the party.

It is said that she would be able to get both the leaders and the vote bank for the party from the YSR Congress. Her joining with the Congress would have an adverse impact on the YSR Congress and the electoral prospects of Jagan Mohan Reddy.

But she would be busy for more than two months with a marriage in the family. Her son is getting married, and she would be busy with those celebrations rather than being of any use to the Congress Party.

By the time she comes out of family function, the election heat in Andhra Pradesh would die and thus she might be of not much use for the Congress. She would have less time on hand to tour the district, meet the leaders and invite them to join the Congress.

But she would be getting the real benefit from Congress. She is likely to be made the general secretary of the party, besides Rajya Sabha member from Karnakata. Thus she would be getting the benefit from the party rather than helping the party.