Hyderabad: BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao on Friday challenged Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to prove his public mandate by making ten defected BRS MLAs resign and face fresh elections. MLA defections were a major point of contention as he accused the Congress government of manipulating democratic norms to protect legislators who switched parties post-election.
Addressing a meeting of victorious BRS sarpanches in Sircilla, KTR took aim at Revanth Reddy’s claim of 66% support in recent panchayat elections. He questioned how the Chief Minister could cite such numbers as a mandate while dismissing local elections as caste- and issue-based in the same press briefing. MLA defections, he argued, were a sign of weakened party integrity.
KTR urged the Chief Minister to “accept the challenge” if he truly believed in his popularity. “Make the ten MLAs you bought resign. Let the people decide who commands real support through the lens of recent MLA defections,” he said.
KTR dares Revanth to face voters
The BRS leader condemned the conduct of senior defectors like Kadiyam Srihari and Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, saying they had “surrendered political integrity for petty gains.” He criticized them for “lying to the Speaker after publicly joining the Congress in front of Rahul Gandhi.” MLA defections have thus become a focal point for political discourse.
Alleging institutional bias, KTR accused the Chief Minister of exerting pressure on the Speaker’s office to shield defectors despite clear evidence. He said the panchayat results, where BRS won 80 out of 117 seats in Sircilla, signaled a backlash against the Congress.
He attributed the result to voter anger over the government’s “betrayal” of farmers, women, and BC communities, despite alleged misuse of police and official machinery. “The pink flag flies high because people trust KCR’s leadership,” he said.
KTR announced a renewed organizational push for BRS, including a membership drive and new committees at village, mandal, and district levels. He urged party workers to gear up for the upcoming ZP and Mandal Parishad elections.