The victory of TRS candidate Pasunoori Dayakar in the Warangal (SC) Lok Sabha constituency bypoll is people's endorsement of the party's rule in Telangana, state IT Minister K T Rama Rao said here today.
"At least after this endorsement by the people, the Opposition parties should stop trying to defame the state government," Rama Rao, son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao told reporters.
A section of the media has also tried to malign the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government, he claimed.
"A big thanks to Warangal. You've inspired us to work more and better," Rama Rao, who is also minister for panchayat raj, tweeted on the bypoll outcome.
The November 21 bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Kadiyam Srihari after he was made Deputy Chief Minister. Srihari had won the seat with a margin of 3.92 lakh votes last year.
Meanwhile, jubilant scenes were witnessed at Telangana Bhavan, the TRS headquarters here, with party workers bursting crackers and dancing to celebrate what is termed as better-than-expected result for the ruling party.
While the victory was in a way "a foregone conclusion", the talk before the bypoll revolved around the victory margin, with many predicting a reduced majority for TRS in Warangal.
The outcome is seen as a big disappointment to the opposition Congress and BJP-TDP combine who wanted to recoup after the drubbing in last year's Assembly elections.
A beaming Dayakar credited the victory to party president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The campaigning had seen a bitter war of words between the TRS, Congress and BJP-TDP combine.
