BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday attributed the party’s losses in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections to a ‘disconnect’ between party leaders and the people, calling for the need to introspect and a change in attitude among party members.

“There are many reasons for our defeat. One significant factor was that we did not engage enough with the people and publicise about the development that we made possible. Blaming the people for our mistakes will not help. There was a gap between us and the public, despite many schemes we introduced for their welfare,” he said.

In an informal interaction with the media in Delhi on Tuesday, Rama Rao said the attempts to erase the BRS’s presence in Telangana would not succeed. The defection of some MLAs and MLCs from the party had no significant impact on the party. “We anticipated ups and downs. Our mission continues despite these challenges,” he stated.