Hyderabad, Nov 14 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao said on Friday that despite the defeat in the Jubilee Hills byelection, the party would continue to play its role as the main opposition party and work harder to return to power.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. We will strive harder to win our state back. Thank you to all for your support and love since this morning,” Rama Rao posted on X.

The Congress party wrested the Jubilee Hills seat from BRS. Congress candidate Naveen Yadav defeated Maganti Sunitha of BRS by nearly 25,000 votes.

Earlier, addressing a press conference at BRS headquarters, Telangana Bhavan, he said the party will not be disappointed by the result.

“We will continue to do our job as the main opposition. We will be with the people. We will be for the people. We will remain among the people. We will continue to fight until KCR becomes the Chief Minister again,” he said.

KTR said for the last two years, BRS had been working to highlight people’s issues, and it would continue to play its role as the main opposition party.

He said that though the BRS candidate had no political experience, the party cadres worked hard to win the election.

Claiming that the byelection has given a new enthusiasm and strength to the BRS, he said people have a clear mandate that only the BRS is the political alternative.

“Our party fought honestly and sincerely in the elections. Everyone saw how the elections were conducted,” he said and pointed out that all surveys had predicted a BRS win.

The BRS leader recalled that seven byelections were held from 2014 to 2023, and the then-opposition party Congress did not win a single byelection.

He said BRS worked hard to highlight the Congress government’s failures, implementation of the six guarantees, and the “fraud” being committed by the government on the people.

“We did not do politics in the name of caste and religion. During the campaign, we discussed issues that are important to the people. Though those in power used abusive language, we remained calm,” he said.

KTR said the BRS showed the progress achieved during its 10-year rule. It explained to people the development works done in the constituency at a cost of Rs 5,300 crore.

He claimed that it was because of the pressure put by BRS that the Chief Minister and the state government had to review the implementation of guarantees.

He said it was only after BRS raised the issue of the lack of representation for minorities in the Cabinet that the Congress government had to give them a place. He was referring to the induction of Mohammed Azharuddin into the Cabinet during the election campaign.

–IANS

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