BRS lost due to disconnect with people in Telangana, says KTR

In an informal interaction with the media in Delhi on Tuesday, Rama Rao said the attempts to erase the BRS's presence in Telangana would not succeed.

Delhi: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday attributed the party’s losses in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections to a ‘disconnect’ between party leaders and the people, calling for the need to introspect and a change in attitude among party members.

“There are many reasons for our defeat. One significant factor was that we did not engage enough with the people and publicise about the development that we made possible. Blaming the people for our mistakes will not help. There was a gap between us and the public, despite many schemes we introduced for their welfare,” he said.

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In an informal interaction with the media in Delhi on Tuesday, Rama Rao said the attempts to erase the BRS’s presence in Telangana would not succeed. The defection of some MLAs and MLCs from the party had no significant impact on the party. “We anticipated ups and downs. Our mission continues despite these challenges,” he stated.

Rubbishing theories that the name change was a factor in the party’s loss, he also denied allegations that arrogance led to the party’s loss, pointing out that there was a difference between confidence and arrogance. He said those who could not compete with BRS in development, created an artificial notion that the party leaders were arrogant.

When asked about the political scenario in Andhra Pradesh, the BRS working president expressed his surprise over YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s defeat despite implementing numerous welfare schemes. Receiving 40 percent of the vote was still a notable achievement.

“An MLA like Kethireddy Venkarami Reddy from Dharmavaram who is always among the public losing his seat shocked me. At the same time, a person who got caught with currency became the Chief Minister here,” he said.

He dismissed APCC president YS Sharmila’s influence in AP politics, stating that she was used merely as a pawn to defeat Jagan. He also mentioned the impact of Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan’s alliance with the NDA, attributing TDP’s victory to this coalition. He felt that if Pawan Kalyan went alone, the results would have been completely different.

Reacting to AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu‘s recent remarks, Rama Rao said the TDP chief was enjoying a key position at the Centre and if he really wished to help Telangana, like he said in his recent Hyderabad visit, it would be a good thing.

On the BRS inducting opposition MLAs when in power, former Minister T Harish Rao remarked that it had done no good for the party, pointing out that 10 such MLAs lost their seats. He observed that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had abandoned governance and was indulging in cheap politics even after coming to power.

“Even after seven months in power, he is yet to get a hold on the State administration. His accusation that we were influencing the government using some officials only reflects his inefficiency. People are already noticing the difference between the Congress and the BRS, and want the latter at the helm of affairs at the earliest,” he remarked.