Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]May 13 (ANI): Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday submitted his resignation to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot following the defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Karnataka Assembly elections. “I have tendered my resignation and it has been accepted,” Bommai told reporters. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had given up as the trends showed a massive surge for the Congress. He said that the BJP would be victorious in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Bommai won the Shiggaon constituency with a margin of 35,978 votes, but many of his ministerial colleagues were defeated. He said, “…I take responsibility for this defeat. There are many reasons for this. We will find out all the reasons and strengthen the party once again for the Lok Sabha elections.”
According to the Election Commission of India, the Congress won 136 seats and ousted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power in the lone southern state, boosting its chances for further electoral battles. BJP managed to win 65 seats. The Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) had won 19 seats. Independents have won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha have won one seat each.
The Congress maintained its lead since morning when the counting of votes for the assembly seats began in the hotly contested election. With the Congress sweeping Karnataka elections on Saturday, ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power in the only southern state ruled by it, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the election results marked a “BJP-free South India”. Did.
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“It is a big victory. It has brought new energy to the whole country. The BJP used to taunt us and say ‘we will make a Congress-mukt Bharat’. Now the reality is that it is a ‘BJP-mukt South India’.” Kharge.
It may be noted that the Karnataka elections were a major victory for the Congress after Kharge became the party president earlier this year. Since 1985, a sitting government has not returned to power in Karnataka after a full term of five years. In the 2018 assembly elections, BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, Congress won 80 seats and JD(S) got 37 seats.
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The Congress victory comes at a time when it is gathering momentum ahead of assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana later this year and the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Congress on its victory in the assembly elections. He lauded the hard work of the BJP workers and said that the party will serve Karnataka with even more enthusiasm in the times to come. Best wishes.” PM Modi said in a tweet.
He said, “I thank all those who supported us in the Karnataka elections. I appreciate the hard work of BJP workers. We will serve Karnataka with more enthusiasm in the times to come.”
Karnataka went to polls on May 10 for the 224-member state assembly and recorded a record 72.68 per cent voter turnout. A party needs 113 seats to win a majority.