Chief Minister K Rosaiah said that the Congress party will respect the verdict of the people who have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
Giving his reaction in the form of a brief statement released to the media, Rosaiah said, "I respect the verdict of the people of the 12 assembly constituencies where by-elections were held."
Defeated candidate from the Nizamabad Urban Assembly constituency D Srinivas said that the people had voted in favour of those who had quit for the Telangana statehood demand. He reiterated his commitment to fight for a separate Telangana, and added, "I accept the verdict with all humility."
The Telugu Desam Party, which came a poor 3rd in the by-polls, said that the verdict was widely accepted. Talking to media persons, senior party leader and former home minister T Devender Goud said that the by-elections were held in a highly emotional and surcharged atmosphere.
He attributed the TDP's poor performance to the party's focus on the Babli issue rather than campaigning in the by-polls. "The lack of campaigning by our party leaders who were busy fighting to protect the rights of the people of the state has left an impact on our performance," said Goud.
Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Public Relations Geetha Reddy said that the results would have no effect on the Congress party in the state assembly.
She added that the verdict of the people against the Congress would be respected.
Geetha Reddy also opined that the results could, however, have an impact on the Srikrishna Committee's report, which will be submitted at the end of the year.
The Srikrishna Committee was formed to hold consultations with the people over the divergent views on the bifurcation issue.
The by-elections were necessitated after the TRS and BJP members resigned in protest over the terms of reference of the Srikrishna Committee.
Geetha Reddy added that the Congress party was not the loser in the elections since the by-polls were held for seats which Congress had not held in the first place.
Winner of the Siddipet constituency T Harish Rao said that the "results are a victory of the Telangana sentiment". He said that his party dedicated the victory to all those who sacrificed their life for the
sake of separate Telangana.
He also said that the victory "should be a message to the centre, and they (sic) should immediately form a separate Telangana state".