"We are A-team of Telangana, not B-team of BJP or Congress": KTR hits back at Jairam Ramesh over VP election remarks

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 10 (ANI): BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao strongly countered Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's remarks over political alignments in the Vice-Presidential election, saying the Congress party's arrogance and sense of entitlement have been its undoing in national politics.
In a sharp retort to Ramesh's tweet suggesting that parties abstaining from the poll were indirectly siding with the BJP, KTR said Congress was still trapped in an outdated "either with us or with them" binary.
"Jairam Ji, this sense of entitlement and arrogance is what made Congress fail in contemporary politics. 'Either you are with us or else you're with them' claim is a silly argument, posturing as if the nation is bipolar. We are neither B-team of Congress nor B-team of BJP. We are the A-team of Telangana people. Please focus on your own failures and spare us the tantrums," KTR said.
KTR argued that Congress continues to treat Indian politics as a two-sided battlefield where regional parties are forced into choosing camps. "This approach has already cost them relevance across most states," he noted.
Making it clear that BRS' priorities remain rooted in Telangana, KTR said the party's loyalty lies only with the people of the state. "Our only allegiance is to the people of Telangana. Their welfare, their aspirations and their voice in Delhi is what we represent - not the power games of Delhi-based parties," he emphasised.
The BRS working president advised Congress leaders to reflect on their declining electoral footprint and governance failures instead of attempting to discredit regional outfits through "false binaries."
Meanwhile, C P Radhakrishnan defeated INDIA bloc nominee Justice B Sudershan Reddy by 152 votes in the Vice Presidential elections on Tuesday. CP Radhakrishnan received 452 first preference votes whereas Justice Reddy received 300 first preference votes. Fifteen votes were considered invalid.
"NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan got 452 first preference votes. He has been elected as the Vice President of India...Justice Sudershan Reddy secured 300 first preference votes," Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody said at a press conference.
Furthermore, 13 MPs abstained from voting in the election. These include seven MPs from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), one MP from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and one Independent MP.
The Vice President's post has been vacant since July 21, 2025, as Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his position, citing health reasons. (ANI)