Munugode result shows TRS can’t win on its own: Revanth

Congress secured respectable 23,000 votes without distributing liquor and money, says the PCC chief

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy has said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, by siding with the Communist parties in the Munugode elections, had sent a message to party cadre and people that the TRS could not win on its own in Telangana, and it was a good sign for the Congress, which was the main opposition.

At a press conference here, he said KCR was now clearly afraid of losing in Telangana and that he sought the support of the Left parties whom he had ridiculed in the last years questioning their presence as well. The Munugode result clearly showed that without Communists’ support the TRS would have lost and that too after spending hundreds of crores, distributing liquor and misusing official machinery to the hilt. “This narrow margin despite using all weapons is an indication of TRS losing in the general elections,” he claimed.

Stating that Communists were natural partners of the Congress , he said they would soon realise their mistake. “They will receive the same treatment from KCR which all those who allied with him received in the past,” he alleged, and hoped that Left parties will continue to fight on people’s issues along with the Congress.

Mr. Reddy said he was amused and surprised by the celebrations of TRS and the BJP. The TRS knows it’s badly hit and the BJP knew that snatching a Congress MLA after giving a contract of Rs 18,000 crores to him and spending hundreds of crores in the constituency also lost. Both are happy that Congress was pushed to third place yet again proving the closeness that Congress has been accusing them of. “Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elated and said in an election rally in Himachal Pradesh that Congress lost in Telangana and it was laughable that he was speaking like a street level leader,” he claimed.

On the contrary, Mr. Reddy said he was happy with the performance of the Congress that could secure more than 23,000 votes without spending any money or distributing liquor. “In fact, our candidate, Palvai Sravanthi challenged both the TRS and BJP candidates to take oath at Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Yadagiri Gutta that let the elections be free of liquor and money but they failed to respond indicating how much they depended on them,” he said.

The Congress chief said media also reported figures of ₹300 crores liquor consumed in Munugode while the monthly consumption in normal times was ₹60 crore. Additional spending of ₹240 crore showed the illegal money dumped by BJP and TRS, he said accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of turning a blind eye. “What is the relevance of ECI if it cannot contain such nakedness seen in the open. People are wondering what moral right ECI officials have to continue in the office.”

Alleging that the TRS and BJP behaved like rogue elephants terrorising everyone to capture the seat at any cost, he said Congress fought well even in that situation. “I explained to Mr. Rahul Gandhi Congress cadre’s fight against odds and he wanted us to continue the fight. Congress is like an elephant. It will take time to turn around but after that, it comes with full force,” he said arguing that Congress will come back to power in Telangana.