R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI/BENGALURU/NEW DELHI, MAY 13
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday hailed the spectacular comeback of Congress with thumping majority in Karnataka on Saturday.
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— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 13, 2023
- Landmass of Dravidian family stands clear of BJP, says CM Stalin
- ‘My Prophecy Came True,’ Siddaramaiah
- Kejriwal congratulates Congress, says BJP should realise its tactics don’t work anymore
ग़रीबों की शक्ति ने भाजपा के पूंजीपति मित्रों की ताकत को हराया है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 13, 2023
The Congress returned to power on its own in Karnataka after 10 years, knocking the BJP off its only southern perch on Saturday as voters decisively backed the grand old party desperately seeking electoral revival ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress was winning or leading in 136 of the 224 assembly seats in the state, comfortably over the magic number of 113, and the BJP in 64, a sharp drop from its tally of 104 in 2018, according to latest trends on the Election Commission website.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday thanked the people of Karnataka on party’s expected victory and said that “market of hate has been shut and shops of love have opened”.
He also said that the power of crony capitalism has been defeated by the power of poor people.
Speaking to the media at the party headquarters here, Gandhi said, “Want to thank the people of Karnataka, our party leaders and all party workers who have worked hard.”
He said, “We didn’t fight on hate and we fought on issues of love. We fought with people, and the state has shown that love can win,” he said, adding that this will be repeated in other states too.
“In Karnataka shops of hatred have closed and shops of love have opened. It is a victory of the people of Karnataka. We made five promises and we will fulfill those promises in our first cabinet meeting,” he added.
The Congress is set to form the government in the southern state.
The party headquarters here witnessed a festive mood with workers bursting crackers, dancing on bhangra tunes and also distributing sweets.
Landmass of Dravidian family stands clear of BJP, says CM Stalin
Congrats @INCIndia on spectacular winning of Karnataka. The unjustifiable disqualification of brother @RahulGandhi as MP, misusing premier investigative agencies against political opponents, imposing Hindi, rampant corruption have all echoed in the minds of Karnataka people while…
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 13, 2023
The BJP has been ousted from power in the Dravidian landscape with the Congress party’s victory in Karnataka, DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said on Saturday.
Congratulating the Congress, Stalin said that disqualification of MP Rahul Gandhi, misusing premier investigative agencies against political opponents, imposing Hindi, rampant corruption have all echoed in the minds of Karnataka people.
In a tweet, Stalin said: “The land mass of Dravidian family stands clear of BJP. Now let us all work together to win 2024 (LS polls) to restore democracy and constitutional values in India.”
He said: “The unjustifiable disqualification of brother Rahul Gandhi as MP, misusing premier investigative agencies against political opponents, imposing Hindi, rampant corruption have all echoed in the minds of Karnataka people while voting and they have upheld the Kannadiga pride by teaching a befitting lesson to BJP’s vindictive politics.”
MK Stalin greeted Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, top leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar on the party’s emphatic win in Karnataka. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister spoke to them over the phone.
‘My Prophecy Came True,’ Siddaramaiah
“It is a big victory for the Congress party. The people of Karnataka wanted a change because they were fed up with the BJP govt. BJP spent a lot of money on Operation ‘Kamala’. Padyatra of Rahul ji helped as well in enthusing the cadre of the party. It is a mandate against Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and JP Nadda. PM came to Karnataka 20 times. No PM in the past campaigned like this. This result in the Karnataka elections will be a stepping stone for Cong victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. I hope Rahul Gandhi will become the country’s PM in 2024. ”
Congress MLA Priyank Kharge
My heartfelt thank you to the people of Chittapur who have put their faith in me once again.
As always, I shall continue to strive for the development of Chittapur.I am always indebted to the people of Chittapur & Kalaburgi for their love & immense faith in me.
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) May 13, 2023
“I am grateful to the people of Chittapur for electing me for the third time. We will give the people of Karnataka a stable government. CM’s face will be decided by party high command.”
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh
VIDEO | Karnataka Election Results 2023: “It’s an overwhelming mandate for the Congress,” says Congress leader @Jairam_Ramesh. #KarnatakaResultsWithPTI pic.twitter.com/Mr0Jkt7VOS
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 13, 2023
“I am certain that Congress has won, PM Modi has lost.”
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel
बजरंगबली का गदा भ्रष्टाचारियों पर पड़ा है। यह नरेंद्र मोदी जी की हार है। pic.twitter.com/QnOvZ1NJTY
— Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) May 13, 2023
“The Karnataka election result is as per our expectations. PM sought votes by keeping himself in the front. So, this is Modi’s defeat. You can see with whom Bajrang Bali stands. Bajrang Bali’s ‘gada’ hit corruption on its head and BJP was done.”
AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge
All our @INCKarnataka Congress party workers, state leaders & AICC office bearers on the ground worked extremely hard to ensure this victory.
The collective leadership of the Congress party including Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Shri @RahulGandhi and Smt. @priyankagandhi made it possible.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) May 13, 2023
“This is the victory of Janata Janardhan. All our leaders have worked unitedly and people have voted for our ‘guarantees.’ Once ‘High Command’ sends observers, other processes will follow. All newly-elected MLAs asked to come to Bengaluru this evening. People have voted against bad administration.”
Congress leader BK Hariprasad
ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಮೇಲೆ ವಿಸ್ವಾಸವಿಟ್ಟು ಬಹುಮತ ನೀಡಿದ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನರ ತೀರ್ಪಿಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಕೃತಜ್ಞತೆ.
ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಮಡುಗಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಮತದಾರರ ಆಕ್ರೋಶ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಪಕ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕ ಪಾಠ ಕಲಿಸಿದೆ.
ಜನರ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆ,ಭರವಸೆಯನ್ನ ಈಡೇರಿಸುವ ಬದ್ಧತೆ ಪಾಲಿಸಲಿದ್ದೇವೆ.
ಧನ್ಯವಾದ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ.🙏
— Hariprasad.B.K. (@HariprasadBK2) May 13, 2023
“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. This is a clear message for 2024 (General election) and the upcoming state elections in three states – BJP has to go.”
Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar
Congress party's victory is Karnataka's victory- a hard earned one!
Our guarantees for our people are the guiding force of our vision for the state and we shall get down to implementation right away.
This is a huge mandate for our leaders and workers who have worked hard for… pic.twitter.com/I9bQOiHm6B
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) May 13, 2023
“People have reposed faith in us, leaders have supported us, says Shivakumar. I can’t forget Sonia Gandhi visiting me after the BJP people jailed me.”
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh
दक्षिण भारत में भाजपा का सफाया हो गया, मध्य प्रदेश चुनाव के बाद सेंट्रल इंडिया से भी भाजपा का सफाया हो जाएगा। इस बार मध्य प्रदेश में कांग्रेस इतना बहुमत लेकर आएगी की जोड़ तोड़ की कोई गुंजाइश नहीं रहने वाली हैः दिग्विजय सिंह#KarnatakaElectionResults2023 @digvijaya_28 pic.twitter.com/fGLFGRp6j2
— Humsamvet (@humsamvet) May 13, 2023
“If they (BJP) spend crores of rupees, ‘Operation Lotus’ can take place but Congress will get a majority. There is no Scindia in Karnataka. There are strong Congress men in Karnataka…”
Kejriwal says BJP should realise its tactics don’t work anymore
AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Saturday congratulated the Congress for its victory in the Karnataka assembly elections, and said the BJP should now realise that its tactics do not work anymore.
He, however, sought to downplay AAP’s dismal performance in the elections, saying a time will come when it will win in Karnataka as well. According to the Election Commission website, AAP appeared to have drawn a blank, securing just 0.58 per cent of votes.
Kejriwal hailed his party candidate Sushil Rinku’s victory in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll in Punjab, terming it “historic and unprecedented”.
“Congratulations to them,” the chief minister told reporters at the party headquarters here when asked to comment on the Congress’ win victory in the Karnataka elections.
On the BJP’s defeat despite the party running “a polarised campaign” in the state ahead of the elections, Kejriwal said, “That’s why they will have to realise that all such tactics do not work.” “Kaam to woh karte nahin. Bina kaam kiye, ulti seedhi baat pe ladte hain. Woh chalta nahin hai (They do not work when in power and contest elections on rubbish issues. Such things do not work),” he added.
Asked to comments on AAP’s performance, Kejriwal said, “It’s just a beginning. A time will come when we will win there (in Karnataka) also and everywhere else.” The AAP had fielded candidates in 209 assembly constituencies in the Karnataka assembly elections. In its maiden foray in 2018, the party had fielded 28 candidates and ended up losing all the seats.
