E-Paper
Karnataka election result: 'Defeat not final...': HD Kumaraswamy defiant after Congress wins
2023 Karnataka election result: JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy earlier suggested he would be open to a post-poll deal with either the Congress or the BJP.
A defiant HD Kumaraswamy tweeted shortly after ex-ally the Congress claimed a remarkable win in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election, insisting 'this defeat is not final... my struggle will not stop... I will always be with the people'. The Janata Dal (Secular) leader - a two-time former Karnataka chief minister and hoping for a third stint in the post after exit polls suggested his party could be a 'kingmaker' - also congratulated the incoming government.
"I welcome the mandate of the people of the state. In a democratic system (the people's) mandate is final. I accept defeat and victory with equanimity. However, this defeat is not final, my struggle will not stop, I will always be with the people," he tweeted in Kannada.
"Defeat and victory are not new to me or (my) family. Earlier HD Deve Gowda (his father and an ex-prime minister), HD Revanna and I also lost. When we won, we served people with commitment. In the coming days, I will become involved building the party," he said.
The JDS leader is narrowly ahead in his constituency of Channapatna; he has around 34,000 votes as 2 pm compared to around 30,000 for the Bharatiya Janata Party's CP Yogeshwara.
Kumaraswamy - whose comment Wednesday and Friday about being ready to deal with either the BJP or the Congress in the event of a hung Assembly sparked speculation - closed with an appeal to the former party to 'respond to people's demands'.
"Good luck to the new government... I hope (they) respond to people's demands. My gratitude to the workers, leaders and candidates (of the JDS) who worked day and night on behalf of the party in this election. No one should panic for any reason..." he signed off.
READ | JDS walks back 'decision taken' claim on alliance with Cong or BJP
Exit polls gave the JDS little to no chance at forming the government on its own merit; they were predicted to win fewer than 30 seats in the 224-member Assembly that has the majority mark set at 113. That prediction is likely to hold as the party has less than 25 leads at 1.45 pm.
For the Congress, state boss DK Shivakumar and ex-chief minister Siddaramaiah have both spoken after outgoing chief minister Basavaraj Bommai conceded defeat. Bommai acknowledged the BJP had 'failed'.
READ | 'I delivered…': DK Shivakumar's emotional message after Cong's win
Shivakumar broke down in front of reporters as he recalled party boss Sonia Gandhi's visit while he was in Delhi's Tihar Jail for two months on money laundering charges in 2020. He also reminded the party's senior leadership he had 'delivered' on his vow to win Karnataka.
That last message is being seen as significant given the jostling between himself and Siddarmaiah over who will be the chief minister.
