E-Paper
'Congress win in Karnataka elections sent message across country': Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav
The BJP lost control of Karnataka - the only southern state it had - to the Congress in 2023 Assembly election.
Responding to Congress party's win in Karnataka Assembly elections, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, speaking to media, said that if the Opposition works with a united front, they can win over the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He said, “Congress' had received a one-sided win and this loss is not just BJP's or Modi ji's, it is also capitalism's loss. All of their supporters, including central investigation agencies and Godi media, all of them loss with them. This has sent a message across the country that if we fight unitedly we will win. That's what CM Nitish Kumar, Lalu ji & we're all working towards, we trying to unite everyone & fight. None of us has any intention of becoming PM or CM.”
He further stated, “We have one motive which is that the government should work for the country, for the poor, for removing unemployment, for farmers, workers and soldiers, and for the citizens of this country. For this, all of us are working, to save the democracy and the constitution of this country.”
The BJP lost control of Karnataka - the only southern state it had - to the Congress after a 2023 Assembly election billed as a close race turned into a rout. Most exit polls predicted a hung Assembly; only three - India Today-Axis My India, News24-Today's Chanakya and Times-Now ETG - predicted an outright Congress win. The Congress' performance - its first state win since Himachal Pradesh last year - suggested the saffron camp could have a tough fight in next year's Lok Sabha election.
Shortly after the BJP conceded defeat, emotional DK Shivakumar said, “I assured Sonia Gandhiji, Rahul Gandhiji and Priyanka Gandhiji, and (Congress boss) Mallikarjun Khargeji I will deliver Karnataka to the fold.” Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi - who has been criticising the Modi government - termed the party's win as “people's strength over crony capitalism”.
The Congress party called Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah to Delhi for a meeting to Delhi before party chief Kharge decided on a name for the State chief minister.
