New Delhi: After registering a massive victory in Karnataka Assembly elections on Saturday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said in a democracy, political parties are bound to listen to the people and "bow the heads" before the voters who "show the right path". Addressing a press conference at KPCC office in Bengaluru on Saturday, he said, "Ego doesn't stay for long. It's a democracy and we'll have to listen to people and bow our heads before the people who show us the right path. It's not a victory of anyone, it's a victory of the people of the state. They decided and chose. That's why we got 136 seats - huge after 36 years." Speaking on the party's performance, Kharge termed it a "big victory" and said, "Those who wanted to make 'Congress Mukt Bharat' spoke many things; today the truth is BJP Mukt Dakshin Bharat."
Giving credit to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra for the party's success, Kharge said, "We started from Mekedatu (padayatra). Then came the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir. We have won almost 99% of the seats in the route in which Rahul Gandhi walked. I thank him for that."
Talking to the mediapersons, AICC in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said the southern state has given a "pathway to save democracy and constitution across India. "Karnataka has given a new mantra to save democracy. It's a pathway to save democracy and constitution across India. PM said 'Congress Mukt Bharat' but the people of Karnataka ensured that 'BJP Mukt South India'. People opened shops of love and closed the shops of hatred," Surjewala said.
AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, General Secretary and State Congress In-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah held the press conference after the party’s thumping victory in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
"This election is 'India Jodo' election and the result has come. It is not just a victory for those on the podium but a victory for all the people of the state. I congratulate the people of the state. I congratulate Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Randeep Surjewala, KC Venugopal and state office bearers for guiding us," said state Congress chief DK Shivakumar.
Addressing the press conference, Congress leader Siddaramaiah said, "BJP never came to power with people's blessings, they came to power through 'Operation Kamal'. In 2013, we got a clear majority, provided good governance and fulfilled all the promises made to the people. People had some respect for our administration. As long as BJP or Kumaraswamy were there, there was no stable government or development. People want to give majority to one party this time and have given another chance to Congress."
Karnataka has 224 constituencies spanning six regions -- Bengaluru, Central, Coastal, Hyderabad-Karnataka, Mumbai-Karnataka, and Southern Karnataka or Old Mysore region. Mumbai-Karnataka and Southern Karnataka are the largest regions of the state and consist of 50 and 51 Assembly seats respectively.
Notably, the Karnataka results assume significance for the Congress as it will give the party a much-needed boost in two of the only three states it holds power now and where elections are due later this year -- Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
The victory will also give the Congress bragging rights as the party tries to unite like-minded Opposition parties to form some sort of an anti-BJP front to take on the PM Modi juggernaut in the Lok Sabha election next year.
As the election results came in, despite several exit polls predicting a hung assembly, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai conceded defeat, the BJP's second defeat after Himachal Pradesh in December last year. The saffron party, according to Bommai, failed to make a mark "despite a lot of effort put in by everyone, including the prime minister and party workers".