Karnataka Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday conceded defeat saying that his party failed to make a mark in the state, reported NDTV. The Congress secured a clear majority in Karnataka, winning 136 of the 224 Assembly seats in the state. The BJP could manage to win only 65, while the Janata Dal (Secular) won 19.
The BJP lost 39 seats from its tally of 104 in 2018. However, the party managed to hold on to its vote share of 36%. The Congress received 42.9% of the votes polled in the elections, an increase of 4.3% from the last elections.
Eight out of the 22 Cabinet ministers in the Bommai government contesting the election faced defeat. Those who lost their seats are Govind Karjol, JC Madhu Swamy, Basavanagouda Patil, K. Sudhakar, K.C. Narayana Gowda, BC Nagesh, Halappa Achar and Shankar B Patil.
On Friday afternoon, Bommai told reporters that the BJP failed to deliver a favourable result despite a efforts put in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party workers. “Once the full results come we will do a detailed analysis,” Bommai said. “...We take this result in our stride to come back in Lok Sabha elections.”
BJP spokesperson Aparajita Sarangi told NDTV that the party either wins or learns but does not lose.
Bommai had earlier said that he was confident of BJP’s victory. He had claimed that the Congress was trying to reach out to other parties because it did not have confidence in its MLAs.
On Saturday, Congress leader Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that his party will come to power on its own strength by winning over 120 seats, reported PTI.
He said that the election rallies by Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda had no impact on the voters.
“People were also not happy with the saffron party since it did no developmental work,” he said. “People wanted change, and they have given their verdict accordingly.”
The Congress had heavily banked on allegations of corruption against the Bommai-led government during its campaign. It also promised 200 units of free power to households and Rs 2,000 each to women who head families, among other promises.
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