After initially suggesting that the Congress would have fared better in the Karnataka polls with a pre-poll alliance with the JD(S), West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called up JD(S) chief H S Deve Gowda, urging the former Prime Minister to keep the BJP out of the state with the aid of Congress support, sources said. Earlier on Tuesday, Mamata had congratulated the winners in the Assembly elections on Twitter. At the time, the trends indicated that BJP would be able to form majority. She tweeted, “For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JDS, the result would have been different. Very different.” Express Data | Result map (EC Data) | This is how Karnataka has voted since 1978 Read | Karnataka election results 2018: As Congress-JD(S) come together again, a look at their chequered past But with trends shifting later in the day, sources close to the CM said Mamata had called up Gowda. “As a regional party they (JD(S)) have done better, and I have been telling that regional parties or regional forces are playing very important role today. They will be the kingmakers in future,” Banerjee said at state secretariat. “I feel that both Congress and BJP must remember that regional parties are important,” she added. Karnataka Election Results 2018 - Follow The Indian Express live coverage on Congress-JDS Government Alliance in Karnataka and real-time updates at indianexpress.com
