By-elections inevitable in Telangana, says KTR

The BRS working president predicted by-elections in Telangana, accusing Congress of surviving on lies and defections. He warned the Revanth Reddy government’s “honeymoon period” was over, questioned Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s integrity, and expressed confidence in BRS’s political resurgence under KCR

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao declared that by-elections in Telangana were inevitable, predicting a resounding defeat for the ruling Congress. He challenged the Congress to openly accept defected BRS MLAs into its fold and face the electorate.

“If the Congress truly believes in democracy, let them say these MLAs are theirs and go for by-elections. Their defeat is certain,” he asserted, stating that the MLAs’ defection from BRS to the Congress had exposed the weakness of the ruling party as it was unable to acknowledge it publicly.

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Speaking at a meeting of Bhadrachalam constituency leaders and activists held at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Rama Rao said defections from BRS to Congress had exposed the weakness of the ruling party rather than strengthening it. He said the Congress was running scared of every election, from panchayat polls to bypolls.

Stating that deceiving people was in the nature of the Congress, he accused the Congress of coming to power on the foundation of lies. He warned that people’s patience had run out.

The BRS working president admitted that his party failed to effectively expose the lies of the Congress and highlight its own achievements during the elections. “Our focus was solely on development and welfare. That was our mistake,” he conceded. However, he declared that the honeymoon period for the Revanth Reddy government is over and people no longer trust the Congress which was surviving only by blaming the past government.

Training his guns at Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Rama Rao questioned the former’s political integrity in the wake of ED raids on his residence last year. He questioned the silence of both the Minister and the ED on the outcome of the raids. “Has he colluded with the BJP? Or is he playing into the hands of Revanth Reddy who himself is working in tandem with the BJP?” he questioned, doubting the Minister’s re-election from Palair next time.

Despite conspiracies by both the Congress and BJP, he exuded confidence in BRS’ resurgence. Citing former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s legacy as the architect of Telangana and one of the longest-standing regional leaders after the late NT Rama Rao, he said like Lord Rama’s crowning after returning from exile, BRS would return to power under Chandrashekhar Rao’s leadership.