Contestation for Regional Political Leadership: YS Sharmila's South Indian Political Discourse
Contestation
for Regional Political Leadership:
YS Sharmila's South Indian Political Discourse
[Dr
S Swaroop Sirapangi holds a Doctorate in Political
Science from the University of Hyderabad. Email: ssanthiswaroop@gmail.com
Dr Topunuru Kaladhar, Assistant Professor in
Economics, School of Social Sciences, IFHE, Hyderabad. Email: tkaladhar@ibsindia.org]
Abstract:
Politics is an exciting
field of activity. However, in South Asian political discourse, carving out a
successful political image depends on various primordial identities, such as
caste. Even within the domain of caste, gender also plays a crucial role. For
women from upper-caste domains, it is also a rugged terrain to carve out a
recognisable image and secure success. From this perspective, the paper
highlights YS Sharlima Reddy’s political activities under three distinctive
stages from 2011 onwards, from three political parties’ lineages. The
three distinctive phases of Sharmila’s political discourse will be constructed
based on a comparative analysis of digital archives. These three phases are
associated with the South Indian Telugu region, specifically the states of
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Methodologically, the paper is based on a
qualitative analysis of political discourse, contested regional ideological
variations, analytical construction of political discourse, and political
negotiations on pragmatic, ideological, and regional variations. Finally, the
paper argues about how and why Sharmila has experienced three contested incoherent,
and distinctive regional phases in her political career, and what her political
strengths and weaknesses are?
Keywords: YS Sharmila Reddy, Women
Political Leadership, Caste, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana.
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