Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Sept 8: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) announced on Monday that it will abstain from the upcoming Vice-Presidential election, citing the lack of support from national alliances on a key agricultural issue.

Speaking to the media, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) clarified that since the Vice-Presidential election does not allow the "NOTA" (None of the Above) option, the party has opted for a complete abstention.

KTR emphasized that the party had previously expressed willingness to back any formation—be it the NDA or the INDIA bloc—that could guarantee the supply of 2 lakh tonnes of urea for Telangana farmers. However, with no alliance stepping forward to fulfill this critical demand, the BRS has chosen to withhold its vote.

Reaffirming the party’s independent stance, KTR declared, "We are not aligned with either the NDA or the INDIA bloc. We answer only to the people of Telangana, not to leaders in Delhi."

He also pointed out that neither of the major national coalitions approached the BRS for support, leading the party to deliberate internally with its MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and senior leaders before arriving at the decision to abstain. Currently, BRS holds four seats in the Rajya Sabha but has no presence in the Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, KTR refused to comment on the recent controversy surrounding his sister, K. Kavitha, who resigned from the BRS last week following her suspension. Kavitha was expelled for alleged anti-party activities after accusing fellow BRS leaders, including former minister T. Harish Rao and ex-MP J. Santosh Kumar, of being responsible for corruption allegations tied to former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR).

Her comments came in the wake of the Congress government's move to transfer the investigation into alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram irrigation project to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"The party has already discussed and decided on the matter. There’s nothing further to add," KTR said, avoiding further engagement on the Kavitha issue.