Bharat Rashtra Samithi continues poor run as it loses from all seats in Telangana

With the BRS is in disarray, the party had earlier announced that it will have an alliance with BSP for the Lok Sabha polls

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (formerly the Telangana Rashtra Samithi), which once dominated the political arena in Telangana since its formation in 2014, has failed to win even one seat in the Lok Sabha elections from State. In fact, it has lost deposit in eight seats.

A look at official Election Commission of India data shows that in majority of the 17  constituencies, the primary fight was between the candidates of the BJP and INC. It was only in two seats, Khammam and Mahabubabad, where the party managed to secure a distant second place against the winning Congress candidates.

The poor results are also reflective in BRS' 16 percent vote share in the elections. In comparison, in the 2019 elections, the party (then TRS), secured around 35 percent of the vote share. The results are in line with the exit polls, which had predicted a complete rout for the regional party.

Meanwhile, Congress doubled its tally to eight seats in Telangana, and BJP made major in-roads into the state, with the national party, too, securing eight seats.

In the 2023 Assembly Elections, the BRS, led by its supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), faced a shock defeat by winning only 39 out of 119 seats. The party was hoping for a strong performance in the Lok Sabha polls to reaffirm its political relevance.

Following that defeat, the BRS has had to grapple with defections and internal dissent. Several MLAs have left and reports claim that several are considering leaving the party. Many have joined the Congress, which turned out to be the surprising victor in the 2023 elections.

Another setback has been the arrest of KCR’s daughter and former Nizamabad MLC K Kavitha, by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering.

Chandrasekhar Rao and other senior leaders like his nephew T Harish Rao, and son KT Rama Rao have aggressively campaigned in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

The trio focused on rallying the party’s base and addressing the issues that led to their recent electoral setback.

In a press conference that Chandrasekhar Rao addressed after the publication of exit polls (which predicted that BRS would be marginalised in the LS elections), the BRS supremo said that defeat in the Assembly Elections was a temporary setback.

“There is a bright future for us, and don’t get confused with political results. This decennial celebration should become an inspiration for us,” he said.

For BRS, performing well in the General Elections will be crucial to silence speculations about its waning influence. A strong showing would bolster its credibility and help retain its core support base.