Panchayat poll verdict marks beginning of Congress downfall in Telangana: KTR

The BRS working president KT Rama Rao has termed the recent Panchayat election results in Telangana as the beginning of Congress’ political decline. Highlighting the party’s strong performance in Sircilla, where BRS-backed candidates won a majority of gram panchayats, he accused the ruling Congress of failing to deliver on promises and misusing power.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao declared that the results of the just-concluded Panchayat elections marked the beginning of the Congress party‘s political downfall in Telangana.

He asserted that the outcome reflected growing public anger and indicated that the ruling party would face further setbacks in the elections ahead.

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Rama Rao also welcomed the party’s decisive performance in the gram panchayat elections in Sircilla constituency, reaffirming it as a BRS bastion. Of the 117 gram panchayats spread across five mandals, BRS-backed candidates won 80. The ruling Congress secured only 24 panchayats, while BJP-supported candidates were limited to 13.

He said the results were the outcome of the strong bond between the people of Sircilla and the BRS over decades. Charging the Congress with misuse of power, he said the ruling party failed to capitalise on its position, losing deposits in over 50 villages.

He pointed out that the setback was most evident in Mustabad mandal, where Congress won just three panchayats. He also said the results deflated BJP’s claims of gaining ground in Sircilla.

In a statement, Rama Rao said the Congress had come to power by making grand claims including six guarantees and 420 promises, but had failed to honour them in the last two years. He said the people responded by delivering a clear verdict against the ruling party in the panchayat polls. He added that Congress leaders who dismissed the BRS before the elections, must now take lessons from the people’s mandate and introspect on their shortcomings.

The BRS working president said the results reaffirmed that the BRS remained the only party that consistently stood by the people of Telangana.

Despite the alleged misuse of power, coercion and political violence by the Congress during the polls, he said voters handed out a large number of gram panchayats to BRS-supported candidates. He stated that people have resolved to resist such pressures and stand with the opposition.

Thanking the party workers and supporters, he called the victory as the outcome of a determined struggle of the grassroots level activists, rather than a routine electoral success.

He said BRS cadres had fought the elections like soldiers against the Congress’ anarchy. He remarked that the courage shown by them across the State had infused fresh strength into the organisation.

Taking a swipe at Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Rama Rao said the results had clearly unsettled the Congress leadership. He said panchayat elections usually favour the ruling party, but this time, despite extensive campaigning by the Chief Minister and the deployment of Ministers, the Congress struggled to secure even half the seats. He termed this reversal unprecedented and described it as a warning sounded by Telangana’s villages to the ruling party.

The former Minister accused the Congress government of pushing the State into distress over the past two years. He cited unfulfilled guarantees, delays in Rythu Bharosa farm assistance, fertiliser shortages and misleading claims over social security pensions as reasons behind public anger.

He also stated that political violence had returned to villages that were peaceful during the BRS regime, warning that the party would firmly respond to any future attacks on its workers.