Hyderabad: Faced with defeat in the
by-elections to 12 Assembly constituencies in the Telangana
region of Andhra Pradesh, the ruling Congress and principal
opposition Telugu Desam Party said the Telangana Rashtra
Samiti`s victory was "very much expected."
Chief Minister K Rosaiah issued a one-line statement
saying: "We respect the people`s verdict."
APCC president D Srinivas, who lost to his BJP rival Y
Lakshmi Narayana in Nizamabad Urban, said "very strong
Telangana sentiment" worked in the TRS` favour, enabling it to
sweep the by-polls.
"The happenings subsequent to December 9, 2009, when
the Centre first made a statement on the separate statehood
issue, have worked in favour of the TRS. Added to it, the
sympathy factor worked in favour of those who resigned from
their posts, leading to their re-election," Srinivas said in
Nizamabad.
Replying to a question, the PCC chief said there was
no change in the Congress` stand on the Telangana issue. "We
are still committed to Telangana," he said.
The TRS has won Sirpur, Chennur and Mancherial,
Siddipet and Dharmapuri constituencies among the 12 Assembly
segments in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh where
bypolls were held on July 27.
TDP senior leader T Devender Goud said the TRS`
thumping victory in the by-elections was widely expected.
"The by-polls were held in a highly emotional
atmosphere. We could not focus on the by-election campaigning
as we were busy fighting the Babhli issue. This has certainly
left an impact on our performance," Goud told newsmen at the
TDP headquarters NTR Bhavan as results started coming in.
He, however, maintained that the TDP was still in a
strong position in the Telangana region.
"Neither is this the beginning nor the end. The TDP
has a clear view on Telangana. We shall not be disappointed
with the results," Goud added.
PTI
