Congress breaks BRS winning streak, crosses majority mark; KTR accepts defeats

Telangana: Accepting defeat and disappointment on the Telangana Elections 2023 results, BRS leader and minister for Municipal Administration and Information Technology, Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao, son of chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao posted a message on X thanking the people of Telangana for the giving the party the chance to rule for two terms.

“Grateful to the people of Telangana for giving BRS party two consecutive terms of Government. Not saddened over the result today, but surely disappointed as it was not in expected lines for us. But we will take this in our stride as a learning and will bounce back,” he said, in the post.

He congratulated the Congress party on winning the mandate.

The Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) has been in power since 2014 when Telangana was granted statehood and won the 2018 elections as well and was hopeful of a hattrick in 2023.

However, the BRS winning streak was broken by Congress which mounted a spirited election campaign to unseat the near decade-old incumbent, even as the BJP also launched a no-holds-barred attack against the ruling dispensation.

While the BRS has 101 members in the outgoing Assembly, AIMIM has 7, Congress 5, and BJP 3. The All-India Forward Bloc has one legislator. There is one independent while there is one vacancy.

Congress on winning majority

The Congress seems headed for the simple majority mark in Telangana to form its first government in the southern state as the national party was leading in 65 Assembly segments on Sunday as counting of votes was underway.

In a post on X, the Telangana Congress tweeted, “No Hattrick, No Cheap Tricks. For those who had boasted that they would be scoring a hattrick in Telangana state, the people have taught a resounding lesson. It’s the Congress all the way, as predicted. We have won the mandate and no tricks from Banisala Bhavan can change the destiny of our state.”

Amid BJP’s possible sweep of the Hindi heartland – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the southern state seemed to favour Congress. The saffron party, however, was poised for a better show, if the current trends hold good by the end of the day.

How are the major players faring?

According to the latest EC update, Congress was leading in 65 of the 118 seats that it contested, while the BRS was ahead in 39 segments. The simple majority to form the government is 60 seats.

CM KCR was leading by 8,852 votes over his nearest BJP rival Eatala Rajender in Gajwel after six rounds of counting, even as he was trailing in Kamareddy by 1,768 votes. Telangana PCC chief A Revanth Reddy was leading in both the seats, Kamareddy and Kodangal, from where he contested.

KT Rama Rao was leading with 25,296 votes over his nearest Congress rival KK Mahender Reddy.

Celebrations by Congress cadre

Celebrations broke out at Gandhi Bhavan, the party office, where overjoyed workers were seen setting off crackers and raising ‘Jai Congress’ and ‘Revanth Anna Zindabad’ slogans.

Sensing victory, Reddy posted on X saying, “Yesterday, today, tomorrow you are my strength.. Congress forces moved to protect Telangana.”

Addressing reporters, senior Congress leader and party MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy said he expected his party to win close to 70 seats, and attributed the spirited campaign led by Rahul Gandhi besides the corruption and inaccessibility of ruling BRS, to the grand old party’s success.