Veteran Congress leader and former minister G Chinna Reddy today dismissed the rumours about his decision to retire from active politics soon, which were published recently in some news reports.
Speaking to the media, the leader made it clear that he would continue to actively participate in public life and serve the people of Telangana for the foreseeable future. He added that he would also take part in elections in the future.
Making an oblique reference to the possibility of the TRS' use of underhand means to secure its recent victory in the MLC elections held in two of the state's graduates' constituencies, he alleged that the usage of money and liquor to secure votes ahead of any election in Telangana had increased due to the ruling party's proclivity to use such means to win.
Reddy said that the practice was not a wide-spread one before the 2014 general elections, and added that the TRS' practice of "purchasing votes" had become commonplace after 2014.
The leader however failed to make an explicit comment on his own recent defeat - he had contested for the Hyderabad-Mahabubnagar-Rangareddy MLC seat, but was
defeated by the TRS' Surabhi Vani Devi.
A possible cause for the speculations about Reddy's resignation after the defeat could be TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy's
decision to resign following the Congress' underwhelming performance in last year's GHMC elections.