'Rahul Gandhi is Modi's biggest strength': KTR rejects 'B-team' charge, says Congress can't challenge BJP
KTR, whose party lost power in Telangana last November, exuded confidence that his party may win 9 to 12 Lok Sabha seats. The BRS had won 9 of 17 Lok Sabha seats in 2019.
- May 9, 2024,
- Updated May 9, 2024 7:07 PM IST
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, BRS leader KT Rama Rao on Thursday said the Congress in itself is not in a position to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said that the saffron party tried to topple the BRS government in Telangana but could not succeed while it did succeed in the states where Congress was in power like Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Goa. KTR also said that Rahul Gandhi is the biggest strength of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
KTR, whose party lost power in Telangana last November, exuded confidence that his party may win 9 to 12 Lok Sabha seats. The BRS had won 9 of 17 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. When asked what gives him confidence considering his party suffered a massive defeat in the assembly elections, KTR, son of former chief minister KCR, said the Congress promised the moon to people but could not deliver even on a single promises.
"It is strong regional leaders who have been able to checkmate the growth of the BJP. For instance, in 2014 and 2019, Prime Minister Modi was able to win the elections in Delhi, it was the TRS which held off BJP's advancement in Telangana, it was not the Congress," the BRS leader said in a conversation with ANI's Smita Prakash.
"Likewise, in the 2023 assembly elections, all the stalwarts of the BJP in Telangana have been trounced by BRS, not Congress. If you look around the country, it is Mamata Banerjee who has been able to offer some resistance in Bengal, it is Stalin in Chennai, Kejriwal in Delhi and Punjab, and KCR in Telangana. Congress is not in a position to checkmate or even challenge the BJP," he said.
On the charge that BRS is a B team of the BJP, KTR said that this is Congress and Rahul Gandhi's modus operandi. "When a person becomes a failure...if I talk about Rahul Gandhi. He himself could not fight from Amethi. Wherever Congress cannot fight, it blames others and tries to fool people."
Telangana's former IT minister said that regional forces are putting real fight against the BJP. "You see the track record. Wherever Congress was in direct contest with BJP, they have suffered defeat."
When told Congress is in direct fight with the BJP in about 100 seats, he said: "That is the bane of the opposition. I can even say that Rahul Gandhi is the biggest strength of Prime Minister Modi. As long as Rahul is there, Modiji is far to an extent."
Telangana will vote in phase 4 on May 13.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, BRS leader KT Rama Rao on Thursday said the Congress in itself is not in a position to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said that the saffron party tried to topple the BRS government in Telangana but could not succeed while it did succeed in the states where Congress was in power like Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Goa. KTR also said that Rahul Gandhi is the biggest strength of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
KTR, whose party lost power in Telangana last November, exuded confidence that his party may win 9 to 12 Lok Sabha seats. The BRS had won 9 of 17 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. When asked what gives him confidence considering his party suffered a massive defeat in the assembly elections, KTR, son of former chief minister KCR, said the Congress promised the moon to people but could not deliver even on a single promises.
"It is strong regional leaders who have been able to checkmate the growth of the BJP. For instance, in 2014 and 2019, Prime Minister Modi was able to win the elections in Delhi, it was the TRS which held off BJP's advancement in Telangana, it was not the Congress," the BRS leader said in a conversation with ANI's Smita Prakash.
"Likewise, in the 2023 assembly elections, all the stalwarts of the BJP in Telangana have been trounced by BRS, not Congress. If you look around the country, it is Mamata Banerjee who has been able to offer some resistance in Bengal, it is Stalin in Chennai, Kejriwal in Delhi and Punjab, and KCR in Telangana. Congress is not in a position to checkmate or even challenge the BJP," he said.
On the charge that BRS is a B team of the BJP, KTR said that this is Congress and Rahul Gandhi's modus operandi. "When a person becomes a failure...if I talk about Rahul Gandhi. He himself could not fight from Amethi. Wherever Congress cannot fight, it blames others and tries to fool people."
Telangana's former IT minister said that regional forces are putting real fight against the BJP. "You see the track record. Wherever Congress was in direct contest with BJP, they have suffered defeat."
When told Congress is in direct fight with the BJP in about 100 seats, he said: "That is the bane of the opposition. I can even say that Rahul Gandhi is the biggest strength of Prime Minister Modi. As long as Rahul is there, Modiji is far to an extent."
Telangana will vote in phase 4 on May 13.