Karnataka poll results: 'Shop of hatred is now closed in Karnataka,' says Rahul Gandhi on Congress' emphatic win

Reacting to Congress’ stellar performance in the Karnataka assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Karnataka win is the victory of the people's strength. Thanking party workers for their hard work, Gandhi said "nafrat ka bazaar closed down" while "mohabbat ki dukaanein" have opened in the state.  

Addressing the media at Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said: "Karnataka mein nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, mohabbat ki dukaan khuli hai."

He said that the promises made by the party will be fulfilled in the first Cabinet meeting of the new government. "On one hand, there was the strength of crony capitalism and on the other, there was the power of the poor people. Strength lost to power," Gandhi said.

According to the latest counting trends, Congress is leading in 138 seats, BJP ahead in 62, JD (S) in 20 seats.

Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah said that Congress did well because of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.

"We will cross 130 seats also; it is a big victory for the Congress party. The people of Karnataka wanted a change because they were fed up with the BJP government. BJP spent a lot of money on Operation 'Kamala'. Padyatra of Rahul ji helped as well in the enthusing cadre of party," Siddaramaiah said.

During the cross-country yatra, which covered over 3,570 km, Gandhi interacted with locals and heard their concerns. The yatra entered Karnataka on September 30 at Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar district and passed through several districts, covering a distance of over 500 km in about 22 days.

Crediting the yatra, Congress worker Srivatsa tweeted that the party won over 17 seats out of the total 21 that were covered in the yatra, highlighting its impact on the election. Of the total 21 seats, BJP drew a blank while JD(S) won in four.  Congress leader Jairam Ramesh too posted how the yatra impacted the elections.

Also read: Kanakapura Election Results 2023: D K Shivakumar wins by over 90,000 votes

Also read: DK Shivakumar or Siddaramaiah? Who will be Karnataka's new CM if Congress wins? 

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