Denying it was a referendum on the A Revanth Reddy-led government in Telangana, Congress leaders have accused the BRS of colluding with the BJP to defeat the ruling party in the MLC election for the Karimnagar-Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad Graduates constituency.
State Industry and IT minister D Sridhar Babu said that the MLC elections have exposed the fevicol-like glued relationship between the BJP and the BRS. Speaking at the Congress headquarters Gandhi Bhavan, the minister alleged that the BRS lent its entire strength to support the BJP in these elections. He claimed Ravinder Singh, a BRS leader who had fought the election as an independent, garnered some votes on his own and not due to his party.
Countering Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay for his statement that the BJP’s win was a Ramzan gift for the Congress, Sridhar Babu said, “We have given quite a few gifts to the BJP. Did the BJP and BRS come together to give away this Ramzan gift? More festivals will come soon, and we will give a return gift to the BJP.” He said the BJP was claiming it as a referendum only after its victory. The minister claimed that the Congress lost due to the large number of invalid votes, and it was the responsibility of the Election Commission to educate voters about the invalid votes in MLC elections. More than 21,000 votes were declared invalid in this election.
Accusing the BJP and the BRS of harbouring an “unholy nexus”, another Telangana Congress leader, Addanki Dayakar said it was evident that the BJP had overtaken BRS. Their secret pact was evident from the fact that the BRS, which is the main Opposition party, didn’t even contest one MLC seat. Meanwhile, Amjed Ullah Khan of MBT, which is a rival of AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi, blamed Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for the defeat, linking it to the communal incidents that have taken place, including in Jainoor Town of Adilabad.