HYDERABAD: Faces of TRS leaders who were a little worried after the outcome of municipal and panchayat polls, split into a broad grin Friday with the party cornering a majority of seats in the 119- strong Telangana Assembly.
It was time to rejoice for the TRS which was in the vanguard of the Telangana movement for the last 12 years as it would be forming the first government in the state. The TRS ended the day with a tally of 63 seats. The nearest rival Congress was very far behind with a tally of just 21 seats, while the TDP-BJP combine, won 20. TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao won his Gajwel seat with a margin of 19,391 votes and Medak Lok Sabha seat with a margin of over 4.75 lakh votes. His nephew T Harish Rao won Siddipet Assembly seat with a margin of over 93,334 votes.
“I will implement all the promises made in our election manifesto. In humility, I accept the responsibility,” Chandrasekhara Rao said. In the election, the main casualty was the Congress whose leaders were hoping to come to power in Telangana as their party had delivered the separate state. But when results were out, even Telangana PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah lost to TRS in Janagoan, Warangal district.
“We are not depressed with the defeat. Whether we are in power or opposition, we will act in a responsible way. We will continue to fight with the government for securing what is due to the people of Telangana,” Lakshmaiah said after his defeat was announced. If TRS nominees for the Assembly seats won with staggering margins, the Congress heavyweights fell one after the other to very weak candidates of the TRS. For instance, former deputy chief minister C Damodara Rajanarasimha tasted defeat at the hands of comedian Babu Mohan at Andole in Medak district.
Several former ministers, including Basavaraju Saraiah, Sunitha Lakshma Reddy, Danam Nagender, D Sridhar Babu and former PCC chief D Srinivas bit the dust.
Interestingly, the TDP won about 15 seats, which was a surprise since in Telangana, TDP was considered a pariah. “Our victory in Telangana shows that the people have more faith in us than in the Congress, which gave Telangana,” TDP chief N Chandrabababu Naidu said after the final results were announced.
According to TDP leaders, the alliance with BJP has worked to their advantage as Narendra Modi’s appeal among the youths had helped them win the seats. Apart from this, film actor Pawan Kalyan too toured the Telangana region and addressed meetings in support of TDP-BJP candidates, which too is said to have helped the combo.
