- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by prime minister Narendra Modi faced defeat as the opposition Indian National Congress looked to secure a majority in the 224-member assembly of the southern state of Karnataka that went to polls on Wednesday (10).
The Congress was leading in 120 seats while the BJP was leading in more than 60 seats. The Janata Dal (Secular), the third major party in the state, was leading in 20 seats.
The defeat meant Modi’s BJP lost the only state in south India where it was in power ahead of next year’s general elections.
Basavaraj Bommai, who was the chief minister of the state since 2021, conceded defeat saying his party was not able to make a mark.
The Congress, meanwhile, asked all its legislators in Karnataka to reach capital Bengaluru after the early trends showed it crossing the halfway mark. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah said he was sure the grand-old party was crossing the 120 mark. There were also reports that the party booked several resorts to keep its lawmakers together. The BJP mocked it saying the party doesn’t trust its own legislators.
Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy, another former chief minister, said he was not in touch with any party. Leaders of his party though claimed that both the two major parties were in touch with them after the exit polls predicted a hung assembly, NDTV reported.
The BJP did an aggressive campaign ahead of this year’s election with Modi himself making several visits to the state. Yet, the party could not succeed in breaking the tradition that Karnataka’s politics has seen over the last almost four decades — the ruling party failing to beat anti-incumbency.
