New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Terming the results of 12 assembly by-elections in Telangana as a 'referendum' for creation of a separate state, Congress MP from Nizamabad Madhu Yaskhi Goud said Friday that the party should 'strategise' its stand on the issue.

'We should act upon the results and strategise the party stand,' Goud told IANS.

He said party MPs from Telangana along with most of its leaders from the region had urged the central leadership not to contest the by-polls.

He said that defeat of state party chief D. Srinivas in the by-polls was a 'setback' for the party.

The MP said the party had lost the goodwill it had gained after the central government made a statement in December last year to start the process for creation of a separate Telangana state.

'An alliance between Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Bharatiya Janata Party is not good for the Congress,' he said, adding that the Congress needs to regain the lost ground by taking a more clear stand on Telangana.

Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed termed the results as people's verdict and said the party accepted them with humility.

He rejected suggestions that the party's stand on Telangana was ambivalent and had caused its defeat in the bypolls.

'Our stand is very clear. We are trying to evolve a consensus on Telangana,' Ahmed said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which won Nizamabad seat in the by-polls, said an anti-Congress mood was prevailing in the state.

'In Congress ruled Andhra Pradesh, its defeat in all the assembly seats where by-elections were held is a fitting reply given by people for its failures and double-speak. This signals the end of Congress rule in the state,' the BJP said in a statement.