Hyderabad: The BRS leaders have pointed out that the local leaders of the party did not work effectively and there was a lack of coordination between the outside leaders and the cadre in the election, which were the main reasons for the defeat of the party candidate in the by-election.

These were the opinions expressed by the local leaders in Jubilee Hills in the review meeting organised by the party at Telangana Bhavan, which was attended by Working President K T Rama Rao and senior leaders T Harish Rao and T Srinivas Yadav. According to sources, the BRS leaders alleged that some of the party leaders from the constituency had worked as coverts of the Congress party, giving information to the rival camps. Along with this, the second-rung leaders in the constituency did not work effectively, leading to the defeat. The party leaders also pointed out that they could not counter the poll management of the ruling party, and the district leaders were not in coordination with the local leaders, leading to misunderstanding.

However, the BRS Working President K T Rama Rao told the party cadre, “Let us win and show from the place where we lost. Get ready for the GHMC elections from now on.” K T Rama Rao recalled that the party stood by the family of the late Gopinath after his death. He praised everyone from K Chandrashekar Rao to booth-level activists for the victory of Gopinath’s wife Sunithamma.

K T Rama Rao accused the Congress and BJP of committing irregularities in the recent elections. He was furious that people were brought from Karnataka to vote for them, and there was large-scale rigging in areas like Shaikpet and Erragadda. He criticised that they won by obstructing the police and distributing money and liquor, saying that this was not a moral victory. He praised Harish Rao for working with dedication for the party despite his personal tragedy.

K T Rama Rao said that the upcoming local body elections should be the target. He said that the Sarpanch and Zilla Parishad elections are likely to be completed by December, and that the party membership registration programme will be launched immediately. He suggested having a strong army of 4,000 people with ten persons per booth in all 407 booths in Jubilee Hills. K T Rama Rao made it clear that Telangana Bhavan and party offices will always be open to the activists, and that the party leadership will stand by them no matter what difficulties they face.

Harish Rao said that the party leaders need not be discouraged by the results of Jubilee Hills, adding that the moral victory belonged to the activists who worked with a fighting spirit. In Jubilee Hills, where only 18,000 votes were cast in the parliamentary elections, he said that getting 75,000 votes in this by-election is a testament to the hard work of the workers.

Talasani Srinivas Yadav said that victories and defeats were natural in politics and that one should not be discouraged by the by-election results. He said that the abuse of power by the ruling party, police interference, and loose distribution of money affected the result.