KARNATAKA: After trends solidified and Congress emerged as the King in Karnataka Polls, roads were flocked by party members. After five hours of counting, Congress was leading with 130 seats as per the data by C. BJP was leading in 66 seats and JD(S) in 22 seats. With the above seats, Congress would be able to form its own government.
Congress leader, CM contender DK Shivkumar interacting with the media got emotional while recalling senior leader Sonia Gandhi’s visit to Delhi’s Tihar jail to meet him in 2020 when he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case.
“…Not a new path, people have chosen the clean path. This is a good mandate against BJP’s false promises and negative politics…We had received a clear mandate much earlier. Still, they formed the Govt by poaching our MLAs. People didn’t want to experiment this time. So, they gave a clear mandate”, added Shivkumar. Congress leader BK Hariprasad says, “This is a clear message for 2024 (General election) and the upcoming state elections in three states – BJP has to go.”
As the leads crossed the halfway mark, reports hinted several resorts were booked by Congress to keep its flock together. The Congress has asked winning candidates to reach Hilton Hotel, and is in touch with independents as well reports added. Celebrations across the country were witnessed as the grand old party rose to power in Karnataka.
Conceding defeat, CM Basavaraj Bommai told reporters, “We could not make the mark despite a lot of efforts put in by everybody, right from our Prime Minister. Congress has able to make the mark.” He added that the BJP would look to make a comeback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
224 assembly seats of Karnataka underwent polls on May 10th.