Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy expressed confidence that the Congress party will secure at least 10 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state and that the INDIA bloc will form the central government.
During an informal interaction with media personnel on Saturday, he referred to a post by the BJP on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), where the party projected winning four to five Lok Sabha seats in Telangana.
The BJP stated: “In the north, we will maintain our tally in MP, Rajasthan… In Uttar Pradesh, we will increase our tally. In Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh… we will maintain our tally. In West Bengal, we will secure 30+ seats. We had 18 seats and will nearly double this. In Odisha, we will cross 18 seats out of 21. In Telangana, we will win 4-5 seats… – Shri @JPNadda.”
While the BJP predicts winning four to five seats, Reddy asserted that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) may not secure more than one seat, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will retain the Hyderabad constituency. He projected that the Congress would win at least 10 seats. Reddy, who is also the Telangana Congress president, expressed confidence that the INDIA bloc would achieve significant victories in southern states, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
He further asserted that the alliance would form the government and that Rahul Gandhi would become the Prime Minister. According to Reddy, the BJP is unlikely to win more than 240 seats.
Criticizing the BJP-led NDA government for failing to deliver substantial benefits to Telangana over the past decade, Reddy stated that he would strive to ensure that key portfolios in the Union Cabinet are allocated to Telangana if the INDIA Alliance comes to power. He recalled that the late S. Jaipal Reddy, as a Union Minister, had facilitated the metro rail project in Hyderabad.
With the state government having invited Sonia Gandhi for the state formation day celebrations on Sunday, Reddy mentioned that there would be a message from the former Congress president if she is unable to attend due to health reasons. He emphasized that the people of Telangana value Sonia Gandhi’s presence.
The Congress government plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the state’s formation on Sunday with grandeur.
Regarding the ongoing police investigation into alleged phone-tapping during the previous BRS regime, Reddy stated that he had not reviewed the issue due to the election code of conduct. He mentioned that an ex-police official, arrested in connection with the probe, claimed in a confession statement that former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao intended to use the “BRS MLAs” poaching case to pressure the BJP into a compromise to avoid the ED case against his daughter, MLC K. Kavitha.
Addressing the BRS’s objection to the Congress government’s alleged plan to remove Charminar and the ‘Arch of Kakatiya Dynasty’ from the state emblem, Reddy said the decision would be made after a debate in the Assembly.
In response to BRS’s allegations of power disruptions and shortages, Reddy assured that there is no inconvenience to the public and that he is prepared for an audit if BRS desires. He also affirmed that there is no shortage of seeds for farmers ahead of the crop season, with district collectors actively verifying seed availability at the ground level. He highlighted the effective functioning of various law enforcement agencies conducting unprecedented raids.
