"Bye-Bye, KCR": Rahul Gandhi's Tongue-In-Cheek Farewell At Telangana Rally

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interrupted his party's Telangana chief and shouted "bye-bye, KCR" into the mic as he took a dig at Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao during a rally ahead of voting in the state on Thursday.

Rahul Gandhi's tongue-in-cheek remark elicited peals of laughter and waves from the audience, shows a widely shared video from the rally on Sunday.

KCR is the popular name for Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi chief Chandrashekar Rao, who has ruled in the state since its formation in 2014 and is now looking for a third term. 

A video posted on X, formerly Twitter, from a rally in Kamareddy, shows Mr Reddy saying "bye-bye" and thanking the audience when Mr Gandhi walks up to the mic, says "bye-bye, KCR", waves and smiles before walking away.

Kamareddy is set to see a triangular contest between the Telangana Congress chief, KCR and the BJP's K Venkataramana Reddy.

In a series of rallies in the state on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi took aim at both the BRS and the BJP and said the Congress is going to "sweep the upcoming elections".

"Today, there is a fight between 'dorala sarkar' (feudal government) and 'prajala sarkar' (people's government) in Telangana. Your chief minister is asking what the Congress has done. The question is not what the Congress has done, the question is what KCR has done," Mr Gandhi said.

"Everyone in Telangana knows that Congress is going to win the elections. Congress is going to sweep the elections with a massive majority," he added.

Mocking the BJP for its poll promise that it would make a backward caste leader its chief minister if voted to power, Mr Gandhi said, "Brother, you first secure two per cent votes and then talk about (making someone the) chief minister." 

Mr Gandhi promised that the six guarantees given by the Congress would be approved in the very first cabinet meeting if the party came to power in the state. The Congress has said on several occasions that its chief minister and cabinet will take oath on December 9, the day the formation of a separate Telangana was announced by then Union home minister P Chidambaram in 2009. The day also happens to be former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's birthday.

The guarantees include Rs 2,500 per month for eligible women, free bus travel for women, gas cylinders for Rs 500, 200 units of free electricity, 24-hour power to farmers and Rs 4,000 monthly pension for eligible senior citizens. Issuing guarantees has become an integral part of the Congress' electoral playbook since similar promises ensured that it got an absolute majority in the crucial state of Karnataka in May.

Mr Rao and other leaders of the BRS have mocked the Congress guarantees and accused the party of trying to pull the wool over people's eyes in Telangana. They have claimed that the Congress has not properly implemented its guarantees in Karnataka itself and the same thing would happen in Telangana. 

Counting for Telangana's 119 seats will take place on December 3.