In its first official reaction to the Karnataka poll results, Congress said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “lost” as the BJP had made its election campaign “a referendum” on PM Modi.
With a few more rounds of counting left, the Congress stays to stay ahead in more than half the number of seats.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, on Twitter, said: “As the results firm up in Karnataka it is now certain that the Congress has won and the PM has lost. The BJP had made its election campaign a referendum on the PM and on the state getting his ‘ashirwaad’. That has been decisively rejected!”
Ramesh said: “The Congress party fought these elections on LOCAL issues of livelihood and food security, price rise, farmer distress, electricity supply, joblessness, and corruption. The PM injected divisiveness and attempted polarisation. The vote in Karnataka is for an engine in Bengaluru that will combine economic growth with social harmony.”
As Congress looks inches towards victory in Karnataka leading in 129 seats, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai conceded defeat and said, “Despite the best efforts by PM Modi and cadres, we were not able to make a mark”.
