JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<select id="city">
    <option value="A">
        <!-- Demonstrating how tags are stripped out in the rendering and the javascript values -->
        <p>Mumbai</p>
        <p>Which is a town in <em>India</em>

        </p>
    </option>
    <option value="B">Bangalore</option>
    <option value="C">Delhi</option>
    <option value="D">Indore</option>
</select>
<button onClick='displaySelectedOption()'>Display Selected Option</button>

JavaScript

function displaySelectedOption() {
    var cityElem = document.getElementById('city');
    var selectedIndex = cityElem.selectedIndex;
    if (selectedIndex != -1) {
        var selectedOption = cityElem.options[selectedIndex];
        var optionInnerHtml = selectedOption.innerHTML;
        alert(optionInnerHtml);
        console.log(optionInnerHtml);
    }
}