'People voted for BJP just to teach TRS a lesson': Congress on Dubbak by-election

As BJP registered victory in the by-election in Telangana's Dubbak thereby strengthening its foothold in the state, Congress has stated that the people of the constituency voted for BJP to teach the Telangana Rashtra Samithi a lesson.

BJP won by a margin of 1,079 votes as it garnered 63,352 votes to win the constituency against the K Chandrashekhar Rao-led TRS which won 62,273 votes.

Senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao on Wednesday said that this should be an eye-opener for the ruling party and the chief minister.

"People voted for the BJP just to teach the TRS a lesson. This is an eye-opener for the TRS and the CM. People are slowly turning against you (TRS) and it is even more shocking that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, who always supports the TRS, has not shown any support in the Dubbak by-elections," he said.

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Confesses mistakes of Congress

Confessing that Congress made a mistake by giving the ticket to Cheruku Srinivas Reddy, who was earlier a TRS leader and switched side to Congress, Hanumantha Rao blamed the BJP for misguiding the people against the Congress candidate.

"In the recent Dubbak by-election, the Congress party stood third despite trying our best. Our candidate Cheruku Srinivas Reddy who joined the Congress from Telangana Rashtra Samithi was a bit of a drawback. He was made to stand because we wanted to teach the TRS a lesson. But the BJP tried to misguide the people by saying that if Srinivas Reddy wins the elections, then he would join the TRS back. Recommending the ticket to Cheruku Srinivas Reddy was a mistake," the Congress leader said.

"Even the Congress party must think before giving out tickets. The ticket must only be given to a person who is loyal to the party and will work for people at all times, and not to someone who comes from other parties. We have faced a bitter situation in the past as well," he added, targeting Reddy.

The Congress leader did not shy away from saying that the Other Backward Classes (OBC) voters who earlier favoured Congress have turned to other political parties. "This is a serious issue and we have to discuss the same to prevent mistakes in the future. We will hold a meeting before the upcoming GHMC elections to discuss the current situation of the party," he said.

The BJP registered a massive victory in the by-elections which were held on 58 seats in 11 states across the country, besides winning the crucial Bihar Assembly Elections too.

(With ANI inputs)

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