Telangana election results: Chief Minister KCR resigns as Congress wins
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao resigned from his post after latest trends showed the Congress winning 64 assembly seats out of the total 119.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. (Source: India Today)
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao sent his resignation from the post through his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) on Sunday, following Congress's massive win in the state assembly elections, sources said.
The counting of votes to decide the fate of 2,290 candidates in Telangana began this morning.
Telangana Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Sunday conceded defeat after counting trends showed Congress leading to a victory in the assembly elections.
advertisement
"Not saddened over the result today, but surely disappointed as it was not in expected lines for us. But we will take this in our stride as a learning and will bounce back. Congratulations to the Congress party on winning the mandate. Wishing you good luck," KT Rama Rao wrote on X.
"Grateful to the people of Telangana for giving the BRS party two consecutive terms of government," he said.
Congress 64 seats in the recently concluded Telangana Assembly election.
Full list of constituency-wise winners
Telangana, which has 119 assembly seats, voted on November 30 and the voter turnout was recorded at 71.34 per cent. Counting of votes for the assembly election began at 8 am on Sunday.
FOLLOW TELANGANA ELECTION RESULT LIVE BLOG UPDATES HERE
Here are the top developments concerning the Telangana election:
Latest developments in Telangana Election Results 2023 here:
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao resigned from his post as Telangana Chief Minister on Sunday. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan accepted his resignation and asked him to continue in office till the formation of a new government, said the governor's secretary in a statement.
The BRS is headed for a defeat for the first time since the state was formed in 2014. The Congress is set to form the government in the state as it won 64 of the total 119 seats. It is also currently leading in one seat.
KCR won the polls from his Gajwel seat but lost the Kamareddy seat to BJP's candidate Venkata Kamana Reddy. In Gajwel, he won by a margin of 45,031 over his biggest rival, BJP's Etela Rajender. The BRS chief lost to Kamana Reddy by 6,741 votes.
Reacting to his win in Kamareddy, BJP leader Venkata Ramana Reddy said he viewed his rivals, KCR and Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy, as "normal candidates".
With the Congress set to form a government in Telangana, BRS leader Krishank said in a tweet, "KCR garu's first interest was, is, and will be Telangana. We respect the people's mandate."
The BRS won 39 seats in a crushing defeat for the ruling party.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge thanked the people of Telangana for the mandate in Congress's favour and acknowledged the party's poor performance in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
"I thank the people of Telangana for the mandate we have received from them. I also thank all those who voted for us in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Our performance in these three states have no doubt been disappointing, but with determination, we reaffirm our strong resolve to rebuild and revive ourselves in these three states," he said in a tweet.
"The Congress party fought a spirited campaign in all these four states. I acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of lakhs of our workers. We will overcome temporary setbacks and prepare ourselves fully for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections along with the INDIA parties," Kharge added.
Notably, exit polls predicted a victory for Congress. India Today-Axis My India exit poll forecast 42 per cent vote share and 69 seats for the grand old party, while the BRS is expected to win 39 per cent vote share.
Congress supporters gathered outside the residence of state party chief Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad and raised slogans as the party showed lead over BRS in Telangana, according to early trends.
Celebrations were also seen at the Congress office in Hyderabad, with the party cadre chanting "Bye. bye KCR".
Congress candidate Revanth Reddy has a lead over Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in the Kamareddy constituency, trends indicated.
KCR is also contesting from Gajwel, where the BRS leader is ahead of BJP candidate Eatala Rajender and Congress candidate Thoomkunta Narsa Reddy.
In a message to the people of Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the support to BJP in the state has only been increasing. The BJP managed to win eight seats in Telangana.
"My dear sisters and brothers of Telangana, Thank you for your support to the BJP. Over the last few years, this support has only been increasing and this trend will continue in the times to come. Our bond with Telangana is unbreakable and we will keep working for the people. I also appreciate the industrious efforts of each and every BJP Karyakarta," the tweet read.
In Chandrayangutta, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi's Akbaruddin was re-elected by a total of 99,776 votes. He has held the seat since 2009. He defeated his closest opponent, the BRS's candidate, Muppi Seetharam Reddy by a margin of 81,660 votes.
Jubilee Hills, a high-profile constituency, has drawn attention with the Congress fielding former Indian cricket team captain Mohammed Azharuddin. The sitting MLA is Maganti Gopinath from the BRS.
Siddipet is also a key seat, with T Harish Rao, KCR's nephew and a five-time MLA, contesting once again. He faces competition from Congress's Poojala Harikrishna and Doodi Srikanth Reddy of the BJP.
Notably, T Harish Rao made headlines when he had reportedly said all money would be transferred to the beneficiaries under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme, an initiative aimed at granting cash aids to farmers. The Election Commission then withdrew the permission given to the KCR government for disbursing financial assistance to farmers growing crops for the rabi season on a complaint filed by the Congress. The development triggered a war-of-words between the BRS and the Congress.