Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday claimed that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) transferred its votes to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections which helped the latter to double its tally of seats to eight in the southern state.
Addressing a press conference, he slammed the BRS leadership for ‘selling their soul’ to ensure BJP’s victory.
He alleged that BRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao mortgaged the self-respect of BRS legislators with the BJP to protect the interests of his family
He said the BRS forfeited deposits in seven out of eight seats won by the BJP. He also mentioned that for the first time since the formation of BRS, the party has no representation in the Parliament.
The Telangana Chief Minister pointed out that the BRS had polled 37.5 per cent votes in Assembly elections held in November 2023 but in Lok Sabha polls its vote share dropped to 16.5 per cent.
BJP had polled only 13 per cent votes in Assembly polls but its vote share has gone up to 35.5 per cent in Lok Sabha elections, he said.
He also claimed BRS secured a majority in only three out of 119 Assembly segments. In the Siddipet segment, where the BRS had been securing a majority of 30,000 to 1.5 lakh votes since the party’s formation, the BRS got a majority of only 2,500 votes.
Revanth Reddy alleged that BRS legislator from Siddipet, T. Harish Rao completely transferred his votes to the BJP. He said by transferring the votes to BJP’s Raghunandan Rao, the BRS helped in defeating Congress candidate belonging to a weaker section.
The Chief Minister remarked that if Harish Rao wants to damage Congress by becoming a suicide squad, he should know that he would also disappear.
Revanth Reddy said Telangana’s society and all democratic and secular forces should take note of how BRS helped BJP win the elections.
He expressed satisfaction over the performance of Congress party in Lok Sabha elections. The party increased its tally from three to eight.
Stating that the Lok Sabha elections were a referendum on Congress governance in the state, he claimed that people endorsed the government as reflected by increase in both seats and vote share.
He recalled that in Assembly elections, the Congress party had secured 39.5 per cent votes and the party’s vote share in Lok Sabha polls increased to 41 per cent.
Claiming that people are happy with the Congress governance, he said they gave another Assembly seat to the party. The victory in by-election to Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat increased the Congress’ tally to 65 in the Assembly.
He said that people have taught a lesson to BRS for making allegations against the Congress within 100 days of its governance and for hatching conspiracies against the government.
Revanth Reddy pointed out that BJP contested Lok Sabha elections in the country with the slogan of ‘Modi guarantee’ but its number of Lok Sabha seats came down from 303 to 243.
“People have rejected the Modi guarantee. The warranty of Modi guarantee is over,” he said.
Revanth Reddy also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should resign from the PM post, adding “he should not become the Prime Minister again as people have rejected him”.
The Congress leader said that PM Modi should gracefully quit the post.
Replying to a query, Revanth Reddy admitted that the results of Lok Sabha polls in the state were not fully to their expectation.
“So far, we worked for 18 hours every day. From now on, we will work for another two hours,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that he owns responsibility for both the party’s defeats and victories. He termed the results a mix of sweet and sour like ‘Ugadi Pacchadi’.
On Telugu Desam Party’s victory in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, Revanth Reddy said that Telangana wants good friendly ties with whoever forms the government so that both the states can solve their problems amicably.
Asked whether he would attend the swearing-in of N. Chandrababu Naidu as the chief minister, he said if invited he would definitely attend.
He, however, evaded reply on whether he would speak to Chandrababu Naidu to make him join the INDIA bloc, saying these matters are being handled by the leaders of the Congress-led alliance.
Revanth Reddy, however, referred to the assurance by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the party is committed to according Special Category status to Andhra Pradesh as laid down in the legislation passed by the Parliament.
–IANS