'It's a mandate against Modi, Shah & Nadda': Cong leader Siddaramaiah reacts to party's performance in K'taka
Karnataka Elections 2023: Former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah claimed that visits of BJP's top brass led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no impact on the voters of the state.
Karnataka Elections 2023: Amid the counting of votes for the Karnataka elections, former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said the party will come to power on its own by winning over 120 seats in the 224-member Legislative Assembly. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the veteran leader claimed that visits of BJP's top brass led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no impact on the voters of the state. His comments came as his party was surging ahead of the ruling BJP during the counting of votes.
"Congress party will win by getting over 120 seats, it is still the initial stage, more rounds of counting have to be completed. Our party will come to power on its own strength," the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly exuded confidence.
'People of the state were fed up with BJP'
Siddaramaih, the Congress candidate from the Varuna Assembly constituency, also claimed that the people of the state were fed up with the BJP and its governance. "I had been saying let Narendra Modi or Amit Shah or J P Nadda come as many times they want to the state (but) that will have no impact on the voters of Karnataka because people are fed up with BJP, their corruption, maladministration and their anti-people politics," he added. The former chief minister further said that people wanted change, and they have given their verdict accordingly.
'I hope all non-BJP parties come together'
The former CM also said that the result of this election is a stepping stone to the Lok Sabha election. "I hope all non-BJP parties come together and see that BJP is defeated and I also hope Rahul Gandhi may become PM of the country," Siddaramaih added.
KARNATAKA ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS: FULL COVERAGE
Notably, Siddaramaiah, a leading contender for the chief minister's post, was leading in Varuna by 10,188 votes. At the time of writing this report, he had 31,093 votes, while BJP candidate V. Somanna had received 20,905 votes. Siddaramaiah also claimed that he will win with an even bigger margin and that his opponent Somanna will lose both in Varuna and in Chamarajanagara.
| Karnataka-Varuna -219 | ||||||||
| Result Status | ||||||||
| S.N. | Candidate | Party | EVM Votes | Postal Votes | Total Votes | % of Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KRISHNAMURTHY. M | Bahujan Samaj Party | 285 | 0 | 285 | 0.53 | ||
| 2 | Dr|| BHARATHI SHANKAR N. L. | Janata Dal (Secular) | 519 | 0 | 519 | 0.96 | ||
| 3 | RAJESH | Aam Aadmi Party | 170 | 0 | 170 | 0.32 | ||
| 4 | SIDDARAMAIAH | Indian National Congress | 31093 | 0 | 31093 | 57.77 | ||
| 5 | V. SOMANNA | Bharatiya Janata Party | 20905 | 0 | 20905 | 38.84 | ||
| 6 | ARUN LINGA KANNADA CHAKRAVARTHI | Kannada Deshada Paksha | 116 | 0 | 116 | 0.22 | ||
| 7 | N. AMBARISH KADAMBA NAA AMBARISH | Karnataka Jantha Paksha | 72 | 0 | 72 | 0.13 | ||
| 8 | K. NAGESHA NAIKA | Samajwadi Janata Party(Karnataka) | 40 | 0 | 40 | 0.07 | ||
| 9 | MAHADEVASWAMY .R | Uttama Prajaakeeya Party | 115 | 0 | 115 | 0.21 | ||
| 10 | RAVIKUMAR. M | Karnataka Rashtra Samithi | 37 | 0 | 37 | 0.07 | ||
| 11 | SHIVA .E | Karnataka Praja Party (RaithaParva) | 43 | 0 | 43 | 0.08 | ||
| 12 | CHETHAN. E | Independent | 77 | 0 | 77 | 0.14 | ||
| 13 | PYARIJAN | Independent | 104 | 0 | 104 | 0.19 | ||
| 14 | M. MAHESH | Independent | 47 | 0 | 47 | 0.09 | ||
| 15 | DR. U. P. SHIVANANDA | Independent | 38 | 0 | 38 | 0.07 | ||
| 16 | NOTA | None of the Above | 162 | 0 | 162 | 0.3 | ||
| Total | 53823 | 0 | 53823 |
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Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023
It should be mentioned here that the state witnessed a single phase of voting on May 10, whereas, the counting of votes took place on May 13. Notably, the term of the 224-member Karnataka Assembly will be ending on May 24. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that more than 9.17 lakh first-time voters participated in the elections in Karnataka.
(With inputs from agencies)