Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi.
As the BJP emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka, several of its leaders extended their greetings and wishes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday. While claiming that the people had rejected Congress’ divisive politics, leaders and ministers said the results of the Assembly elections was nothing but an endorsement of PM Modi’s development agenda.
From Union minister Nitin Gadkari hailing the party’s performance in the southern state to Ravi Shankar Prasad and Sushil Kumar Modi taking a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaders applauded and celebrated the party’s performance in Karnataka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also thanked his ministers, workers and supporters in return. “I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJP’s development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party,” he tweeted.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, "I spoke to HD Kumaraswamy and congratulated him for his party’s victory. I am sure as he will discharge his constitutional responsibility in a better way as compared to his predecessors and Karnataka will progress under his leadership."
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to thank his party workers and supporters.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan described the Karnataka Assembly poll results as unexpected and claimed that the Congress expected to either win with a majority or emerge as the single largest party. Chavan told PTI that giving the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party, a chance to form the government would be "like encouraging horse trading". He asserted that only a tie-up between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) could provide a stable government in the state. "What is surprising is that the Congress has a vote share that is 1.5 per cent higher than that of the BJP. It is apparent that this (Congress getting lesser seats despite a higher vote share) happened because of tactical understanding between certain political parties," Chavan, who campaigned in Karnataka, said.
While describing the results as a "big setback" to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Lok Janshakti Party president and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said, "What could be the future of a person if he has no present. Unless the opposition or its alliance partners accept him (Gandhi), there is no future (for him) and now everyone is holding him responsible for the defeat in Karnataka and accusing him of not taking them onboard." He added, "The biggest setback is for Rahul as the face of Congress. He was projecting himself as the prime ministerial candidate in 2019 and claiming victory of his party. This all has now ended."
BJP MP Babul Supriyo also extended his wishes to PM Modi and Amit Shah over the party's 'spectacular victory' in Karnataka.
While referring to President KR Narayanan's notification on government formation, Surjewala said, "President, K.R.Narayanan had set a fair & Constitutionally precedent by inviting Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form & lead a coalition Govt on 12th March, 1998."
AICC spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said "absolute majority for the coalition is clear". He tweeted:
While expressing "100 per cent" confidence in forming the government, Yeddyurappa told ANI, "I have taken an appointment with Karnataka Governor for 5 pm. We should be forming the government as we are the single largest party."
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, meanwhile, took a swipe at BJP, following reports that the latter has an appointment with the governor on government formation this evening. He tweeted, "After betrayal of mandate in Bihar 10 months ago @RJDforIndia is & was single largest party but not called by governor to form govt. I waited &sat on dharna at Governer house’s gate for hours with our MLAs till 2AM but didn’t get time to meet. Let’s see what happens in Karnataka."
"The win in Karnataka is dedicated to all party workers. I also congratulate the people of Karnataka," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said.
Kerala Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam extended his greetings to BJP chief Amit Shah for the party's performance. "On this cheerful occasion, I wish to express my warm greetings and felicitations for the significant victory of BJP in Karnataka Assembly Elections, bellwethering a grand entry to South India," he tweeted.
While addressing reporters, Yeddyurappa said, "This is a verdict for BJP. People have completely rejected the Congress. The fact that Siddaramaiah himself has been voted out in his own constituency shows the anger of people towards the Congress. People of Karnataka have clearly voted for change. They have responded to the clarion call of PM Modi. Sri Amit Shah's organizational expertise has led us to becoming the single largest party. I thank people for this positive mandate for the BJP."
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the party's performance in Karnataka. He tweeted, "Congratulations to Prime Minister Sh @narendramodi Ji & @BJP4India President Sh @AmitShah Ji for the victory in Karnataka Election! It’s victory of PM’s agenda of Development & Party President’s Organisational directions!"
Responding to Congress' proposal, JD(S) leader Danish Ali said his party is ready to do any thing to keep the BJP out of power. "JD(S) has always maintained that H D Kumaraswamy will become the chief minister. As per results, we will be doing everything to keep the BJP out of power. The Congress has extended its support and we have accepted it. We will jointly go to meet the governor after 5.30 pm today," he said.
While terming BJP's performance as "unbelievable", Sharad Pawar-led NCP said the Congress was well-positioned in Karnataka and there was no anti-incumbency against the Siddaramaiah government. "In this context, the BJP's victory is unbelievable. There is a difference between what was in people's mind and the situation that has emerged," Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said.
On Congress' proposal of forming an alliance with the JD(S), BJP's chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappy said, "Shortly, we will be knowing the final figures, then we'll decide the future plan. I don't want to talk about Congress or JD(S)."
"We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji & Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad tells media persons in Bengaluru.
Launching a scathing attack on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for his temple visits during the Karnataka and Gujarat election campaigns, Bihar Deputy CM questions whether Gandhi will continue his temple run even after losing Karnataka. He also slams the party on playing the "Dalit card" and then the "Lingayat card" to polarise voters. In a series of tweets, Modi said, "Karnatak(a) ends Congress’s NATAK. They played the Dalit card then played Lingayat card then tried to polarise but couldn’t succeed. Will Rahul visit Mandir even after defeat," he tweets.
Congress, in a press meet in Bengaluru just now, says that the party is ready to support JD(S) in a post-poll alliance. CM Siddaramaiah confirms the news. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad claims the JD(S) has accepted its offer.
Meanwhile, incumbent chief minister Siddaramaiah is going to meet the Governor of Karnataka at 4 pm today, says ANI.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal congratulates the party on the BJP's lead in Karnataka elections. Slamming the Congress, he says the people of the state have chosen BJP's "development politics" over the "corrupt" Congress government in the state "The people of Karnataka have uprooted the corrupt Congress government and chosen BJP's development politics. Congratulations to PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BS Yeddyurappa, and Karyakartas of BJP on winning the State Legislative Assembly election, 2018," he says. Last night, Goyal was given the additional charge of Finance Ministry due to Union Minister Arun Jaitley taking a sabbatical for health reasons.
Karnataka minister K J George says the party will work towards finding the root cause of the election shock and will bounce back. "Many Congress people have won the election, you cannot write-off the Congress. It is, maybe, a set back for Congress, we will find out what is the cause of the setback," he says.
"Congress is now opposing for the sake of it. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, we will certainly win," says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu defends Rahul Gandhi, says will support Gandhi till he has blood in his veins. Sidhu was earlier a member of the BJP. He deflected to Congress some time before the Punjab Assembly elections last year. He was acquitted today from culpable homicide charges in a 1998 road rage case by the Supreme Court. The SC, however, found him guilty in under Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) in the case. "Rahul bhai is a leader in the ascent. 2019 will be a different ball game. The alliances are coming with him. Sidhu unke (Rahul Gandhi) saath khada rahega, jab tak mere andar lahu hai," he said.
Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore says a united opposition is good for the BJP as "gandagi (filth)" in the country can be gotten rid off all at once. He also mocked Rahul Gandhi for his "third straight defeat" since he assumed charge of the Congress.
BJP national general secretary appreciated the work of the Sangh Parivar in helping the BJP win Karnataka through their work in regions such as the coastal part of the state.
Meanwhile, former Jammu-Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took a line from William Shakespeare's play Julius Ceaser to comment on the people of Karnataka also choosing the BJP over other parties, as has been seen in recent Assembly elections in the country.
Union minister Smriti Irani lauds the party leadership on the BJP's success in Karnataka.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy laughs off questions raised by the Congress party on the authenticity of EVMs. The BJP leader has in recent times critiqued Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharply over the latter's economic policies.
Rajasthan Chief Minister and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje congratulates PM Modi and party chief Amit Shah on the Karnataka results.
Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nirmala Sitharaman celebrate at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar reaches party president Amit Shah's residence in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)
BJP's Sadananda Gowda says a combination of Modi's administrative skills, Amit Shah's organisational skills and Yeddyurappa's mass base has led to this victory.
Congress leader Mohan Prakash says questions electronic voting machines (EVM), saying even BJP had raised doubts about it in the past.
Union HRD minister and BJP's Karnataka-in-charge Prakash Javadekar says the Congress is losing "state after state". He says people want good governance which is why BJP won.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad lauds PM Modi for the party's lead in Karnataka Assembly polls.
West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee congratulated the BJP party for its lead in the Karnataka election results. "Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different," she says on Twitter.
Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar, meanwhile, defends the efforts of party president Rahul Gandhi, saying it is the "local leadership" who's efforts did not pull through. "Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way & because of which we lost it," he told ANI. (Image:ANI/Twitter)
While the Congress is considering forging a post-poll alliance with the JD(S) in order to emerge as the majority party, BJP leaders in the state are denying any such possibility. BJP leader Sadananda Gowda told ANI that there is "no question" of an alliance with JD(S) as the BJP is "already crossing 112 seats". There is no question of alliance(with JDS) as we are already crossing 112 seats: Sadananda Gowda,BJP #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/Hi4ODkOaxo— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018
Party workers have converged at the BJP office in Bengaluru to celebrate the party lead in the Assembly election result trends. (Express Photo by Vishnu Varma)
The Congress office in Karnataka state capital Bengaluru also looks empty. (Express Photo by Manoj)
In New Delhi, the office of the Congress party looks deserted. (Express Photo by Prem Nath Pandey)
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing by more than 14,000 votes in his native constituency of Chamundeshwari, where JD(S)'s HD Deve Gouda is leading. In his other constituency Badami, he is more than 500 votes behind BJP's Sreeramulu.
Markets react positively to election result trends as Sensex is up by more than 350 points. The Bombay Stock Exchange is at 35928.35 points as the BJP takes lead in Karnataka. Nifty it at 10919.15. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar/Files)
Meanwhile, the Election Commission is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the votes are counted in an orderly manner. OP Rawat, Chief Election Commissioner, said that security has been beefed up at counting centers. "We have deployed Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in strong rooms, adequate security personnel presence will be there at all counting centers to ensure law and order is maintained," Rawat told news agency ANI. (Image: ANI/Twitter)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's son Dr Yathindra also reacts to reports of Congress making attempts to align with the JD(S). Speaking to news agency ANI, he said, "Senior party leaders will decide on this, but we are confident and hope to form government on our own." Yathindra is a Congress candidate from Varuna. (Image: ANI/Twitter)
It is not just Yeddyurappa who is offering prayers before the results are out. A 'havan' is being performed by Congress workers outside the AICC office in New Delhi, ahead of counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly elections.