Bengaluru: CLP leader Siddaramaiah and Congress' Karnataka chief Dinesh Gundu Rao quit their posts on Monday after their party put up a poor show in the Assembly by-elections, throwing the state unit into a turmoil. Minutes after the results of the bypolls to 15 segments, in which the BJP won the lion's share of 12, they tendered their resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi owning moral responsibility for not being able to give "satisfactory results."

In a huge setback, the Congress could win only two out of 15 seats whereas it had previously held 12 of them. In his letter to Sonia Gandhi, Siddaramaiah, a former Chief Minister and senior party leader, expressed regret for not being able to give "satisfactory results" in the bypolls despite his sincere efforts. "I deem it necessary to step down as Leader of CLP by taking moral responsibility," he wrote. "As a CLP leader, there is a need to uphold the democratic principles. In the interest of the party, I have tendered my resignation as CLP leader," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Giving a similar explanation, Rao too said minutes later he has also resigned. Rao said he arrived at a conclusion soon after the exit poll results on December 5 showed landslide victory for BJP in the by-elections. "I too owe a lot of moral and political responsibility.

I had discussed with our Delhi based leaders about our party's poor prospects in the by-election and if something goes awry, I will have to take decision accordingly," Rao said.