‘South India is BJP-mukt…Bajrang Bali’s gada hits corruption': Congress exults after conquering Karnataka

CM Baghel said the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is the key factor for Congress' victory.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had a realisation that it will lose in Karnataka and therefore it had put up party president JP Nadda's photos everywhere instead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday said as the undergoing vote count indicates Congress' victory in the Karnataka assembly election 2023. CM Baghel added that the BJP had called for a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ and now south India is ‘BJP-mukt’.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.(HT_PRINT)

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“First we won Himachal Pradesh and now Karnataka. From Himalayas to oceans, Congress has achieved success. The BJP used to call for ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ but now south India is BJP-mukt,” CM Baghel said addressing the media.

Earlier in the day, incumbent Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai conceded defeat in the assembly election ahead of the final result. “We have not been able to make the mark. The Congress has done it successfully… Once the results come we will do a detailed analysis. As a national party, we will not only analyse but also see what deficiencies and gaps were left at various levels. We take this result in our stride,” the Karnataka chief minister told reporters.

The senior Congress leader said the impending corruption and the ‘40% commission government’ in the state, in addition to the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, are the factors responsible for Congress' victory.

The ‘Bajrang Bali’ took a centre-stage during the election campaign in the run-up of the assembly elections. Taking a swipe at the right-wing party earlier, CM Baghel said, "You can see with whom Bajrang Bali stands. Bajrang Bali's 'gada' hit corruption on its head and BJP was done," he added.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot earlier said Karnataka has dismissed the ‘communal politics’ in the state and opted for the politics of development and the similar trend will be repeated in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.