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Congress is set to return to power in Karnataka as the party is now leading in over 136 seats, well past the majority figure of 113 Karnataka Assembly Election Result 2023: After Congress secured a massive win in Karnataka, former party chief Rahul Gandhi said his party did not fight the assembly election with hatred and poor people defeated the capitalists. "We didn't fight this battle using hatred," he said while speaking to reporters. He also said: "Karnataka mein Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaan khuli hai." Congress leaders are crediting him for the win as his Bharat Jodo Yatra covered a large chunk of the state. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has given credit to Rahul Gandhi for the party's success in the state. He said Rahul Gandhi's yatra helped the party get the majority in the southern state. "The people of Karnataka wanted a change because they were fed up with the BJP govt. BJP spent a lot of money on Operation 'Kamala'. Padyatra of Rahul ji helped as well in the enthusing cadre of party," he said. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai has conceded defeat as Congress is set to win 138 of 224 seats. The BJP has slipped further and is ahead on 62 seats and Janata Dal-Secular's lead has declined to 22 seats. The JD-S and BJP have taken a big hit as Congress has expanded its footprints. The results are almost in line with what the exit poll survey had predicted. India Today-Axis My India had predicted a comfortable majority for the Congress while 62-80 seats for the BJP. The JD(S) is projected to get 20-25 seats.
The following is the party position in the Karnataka Assembly elections at 5.45 pm on Saturday, according to latest counting trends updated by the Election Commission. Elections to 224 seats were held on May 10.
Congress has won 122 seats and is leading in 14 others. The BJP has so far won 56 seats and is leading in 8 others.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday said that coming to power in Karnataka was a huge responsibility. "We went to the people with a few guarantees and we have to fulfill them. We have to work for the people. Public will tell us what will happen next," she said.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday congratulated his colleagues in Karnataka for party's steller performance in Assembly elections.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge won the Chittapur Assembly seat against BJP's Manikanta Rathod by 13,640 votes.
Karnataka Congress Chief DK Shivakumar has defeated BJP leader and minister R Ashoka by over 1 lakh votes in Kanakapura seat. After his win, the Shivakumar, one of the top contenders of Karnataka CM post, reached the Election Commission office to collect his winning certificate.
Former Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao has won the closely contested battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival Sapthagiri Gowda in Gandhi Nagar by 105 votes. His opponent Sathagiri Gowda requested for re-counting of votes but the returning officer (RO) refused.
Rao and Gowda emerged as the top contenders among 15 candidates in the latest poll trends.
Congress's Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP after the grand old party was seen headed for a clear majority in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
"Modi ji had revoked Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership for speaking against authoritarianism and corruption. Today, due to the same corruption, the people of Karnataka have removed him from the state. This proves that it is the common people, not those in power, who decide who will hold power," news agency ANI quoted the Congress leader as saying.
Chhattisgarh CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after his party mega win in Karnataka and said that south India is now "BJP-mukt".
"First we won Himachal Pradesh and now Karnataka. They used to speak of 'Congress-mukt bharat', but South India is 'BJP-mukt' now," Baghel said.
Former Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturaday congratulated Congress for its stellar run in Karnataka Assembly polls and said that people have shown that they will vote decisively for peace, love and against corrupt regimes.
Karnataka Assembly Election Result 2023: The Congress has won 36 seats and is currently leading on 101. The BJP is leading in 45 seats and has won 17 seats.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says poor people have defeated crony capitalists in Karnataka. "We didn't fight this battle using hatred," he says while speaking to reporters after Congress' massive win in Karnataka. "Karnataka mein Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaan khuli hai."
BJP's S Raghu has won from CV Raman Nagar. He defeated Anand Kumar of Congress by over 16,000 votes. Congress has bagged the Challakere seat. Here, T Raghumurthy has won by defeating Ravish Kumar of Janata Dal-Secular.
Karnataka Election result 2023: Congress' Basavaraj Neelappa Shivannanavar has won from Byadgi. He defeated Ballari BJP's Virupakshappa Rudrappa by 23841 votes.
Belur Result 2023: BJP's HK Suresh has won from Belur. He has defeated Congress' B Shivaramu by nearly 8,000 votes.
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