HYDERABAD: TRS working president and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao said that the Munugode bypoll result will be a stepping stone for Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) to play a key national role in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Rama Rao expressed confidence that the TRS will win the Munugode bypoll hands down for the perfect springboard for the BRS.
In an informal interaction with media personnel at his camp office here on Wednesday, Rao hoped that the Election Commission of India (ECI) would give its nod to renaming of the TRS as the BRS soon after the Munugode result on November 6.
"Our party passed a resolution renaming the TRS and the BRS on October 5 and sent it to the ECI for approval on October 6. But it is still pending with the EC. Maybe the EC is busy with ongoing bypolls in some states," he said, adding that once the BRS gets the EC's nod, it would expand its activities to other states.
"Our focus is on the next Lok Sabha polls. But then nothing can be ruled out. There are Assembly polls in Gujarat soon. Former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela recently met our Chief Minister and held discussions on this. Maharashtra is going for local body polls soon and there is a request from local leaders there to contest on behalf of BRS. But we are not keen on local body polls. Our party boss will discuss all these issues after the Munugode result," he added.
Referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Telangana, Rao asked Rahul to figure out who his party's main political rival was in the country.
"He seems to be in a confused state over who his party's main political rival is. He has to figure it out immediately. If the BJP is his main rival, then why is he avoiding padayatra in Gujarat where elections are due in the next couple of months? On the other hand, the TRS is very clear on this issue. Our party president is the only leader in the country who is attacking the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wrongdoings in the last eight years with proof," he said.
Taking strong exception to Rahul attacking the TRS and linking it with the BJP, Rao said, "Rahul says the TRS and the BJP are two sides of the same coin and working in tandem. It's the TRS, which has been waging a battle against the BJP and Modi for two years. Can we say Rahul has a secret understanding with BJP and that's why he is avoiding Gujarat and attacking TRS."
Referring to the BJP's alleged attempts to purchase four TRS MLAs, Rao said that the audio-video tapes related to this case were sent to the forensic science laboratory to ascertain their authenticity.
"The two tapes that surfaced in the media are only the tip of the iceberg and more such tapes would come out soon. These will further expose BJP's manipulative politics to purchase MLAs and topple democratically-elected governments."
